


Henry & Me

by Probably_exhausted



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Anti-Outlaw Queen, F/F, F/M, Ruby Slippers, Slow Burn, lots of puppy content, no mention of captain swan, outlaw queen marriage at the beginning, swanqueen - Freeform, this will be v gay i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-06-19 19:52:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15517362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Probably_exhausted/pseuds/Probably_exhausted
Summary: AU. Small-town veterinarian Emma Swan finds herself treating the sick puppy of the enigmatic Regina Mills, CEO of Mills Construction PLC. The two fight and disagree but are ultimately brought together by Regina's beautiful flat coated retriever - Henry. With Regina's company being forced into a merger with Gold & Co. by Cora, and Robin putting pressure on their marriage, Regina finally has to decide her own fate for herself.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually planned and written most of this fic already, but I'm always open to suggestions and amendments so shoot if you have any comments or ideas! I haven't used any archive warnings because none of them really apply, but there's some stuff later on that could potentially be triggering. I will properly warn about it in the author's notes at the beginning of these chapters so keep an eye out for that if you need to. 
> 
> I'll be updating this story weekly, but I'm not sure which day yet :)

 

The humidity hung on to Emma’s scrubs as she made her way to her car from work. She brushed the accumulating sweat from her brow, letting out a loud exhale. Once she reached her car, she hopped inside and sat with the windows scrolled all the way down as the aircon started to work.

It was a Friday afternoon in July, a night a woman in her late twenties should be spending having drinks with friends, dancing in clubs or going on dates. But, since Emma had moved to Miami at the beginning of the year, she just hadn’t been able to find her feet. She was friends with her receptionist Vivi, but not in any capacity where they would agree to see each other out of work. The people around her in her apartment building were all jerks, and it wasn’t as if she had any family to keep in contact with to breach her newfound complete loneliness.

Her car sufficiently cooler, Emma turned the key in the ignition and started to drive her bright yellow VW Beetle towards her apartment complex. The thought of the long weekend ahead of her, alone, filled Emma’s stomach with something that felt similar to acidic cement. Heavy, yet burning. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had indicated off the road and was pulling up outside a liquor store. This was usually how her evenings ended anyway.

“Afternoon.” Emma nodded at the cashier, an old Indian man with glasses on the end of his nose and eyes that warded off even the toughest of teenagers from trying to buy alcohol underage. He grunted, acknowledging her presence.

“I had a great day! Saved a small kitten. Thanks for asking.” Emma exclaimed from the back of the shop where she was deciding between gin and vodka. Both. Both sounded good. There was another grunt.

Emma brought the two bottles up to the cashier and he begun ringing up her items.

“What are you up to this weekend, Mr. Singh?” Emma asked, her faux-brightness continuing. He glared at her above his glasses, punching in the last of the numbers into the till.

“Well, you’re just a bundle of laughs, aren’t ya.” Emma sighed, picking up the two bottles when he thrust them at her. “See you Monday, Mr. Singh.”

Another grunt.

Emma and the cashier had had this routine since February, a month after Emma’s arrival to the sunshine state. At first, she thought it was odd that the man had never actually spoken to her since she was an almost daily visitor. She tried to start a conversation with him after that, but soon discovered he had no intention of ever talking to her. So, she amused herself with her cheery one sided conversations and the glares from the old man.

She slid back into her car, cursing at how it had managed to turn into a furnace in the two minutes she was in the shop. Sunshine state, her arse.

Rejoining the road, Emma drove back to her apartment block. Once inside, she kicked her trainers off at the front door and padded into the kitchen with her two bottles of alcohol. It was past 5pm, she reasoned with herself, as she poured herself a hearty gin and tonic. She turned the music on and moved her hips to it before settling down onto her sofa, looking out to the Miami landscape.

Her gin and tonic slid too fast past her lips for Emma’s liking. She poured herself another, hoping that the alcohol would tame the burning heaviness sitting in her stomach. Another drink, and Emma was sufficiently buzzed. She danced a bit to her music, tried to fix herself some dinner before realising she had forgotten to do her groceries once again, and decided to amuse herselfinstead with her daily self-deprecating gag of listening to her voicemails. Or, lack of them. This was usually by the third drink.

“Alright, what have you got for me today?” Emma laughed, pressing the play button. “Wait, let me guess…one of my patient’s owners couldn’t get me out of their head so _had_ to get my number to ask me on a date. No! I know, my birth parents finally tracked me down. That would be interesting. How about-“

Emma’s mumblings were disrupted by a small beep coming from her answer machine, indicating a message.

“What in the living hell?” Emma gasped, putting her drink down and sitting next to her machine. She pressed play, her heart racing. A familiar voice filled the room, Emma bringing her hand over her chest as it brought old emotions and memories of friendship and laughter bubbling to the surface.

_“Hi! Hello. I do hope this is the right number. You, Emma Swan, are a very hard person to get a hold of. You live in Florida now, how cool! Oh, sorry, it’s Mary Margaret here.”_ The person on the answer machine giggled. “ _How silly of me. Anyway, this is going to sound incredibly out of the blue, but I own a veterinary practice in Maine. I’m now pregnant with my second child and I’m planning on stepping down to focus on my family, but I just can’t find anyone to take my place. And then I remembered my best friend from veterinary school. My best friend who never rings, by the way. It wouldn’t kill you to once in a while…sorry. I just miss you, that’s all. Sorry for rambling, I didn’t actually realise people had landlines anymore. Call me back when you get a chance, Em.”_

Emma sat in shock, tears falling down her cheeks. She hadn’t spoken to Mary Margaret in _years_. She replayed the message over again, just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating, and then thought over it.

It was definitely a job offer, Emma was sure of it. To Maine? She had only just adjusted to Florida.

Emma sat on the couch, nursing her fourth G&T and looked around her apartment in the rapidly diminishing sunlight. She had yet to turn any of her lights on, but the darkness helped her think. The apartment was barely furnished; a sofa and chair facing the large window and a rug being all that there was in the living room. Nothing in this apartment was greater than six months old. There were no pictures on the tables, paintings on the wall, plants, decorations. There was no sign that anyone actually lived here.

Fresh tears leaked out of Emma’s eyes at that, and after reading nine PM on the clock, Emma decided to call it a day. She stumbled into her room, splashing some water onto her face and then fell into her bed, only having yanked off her jeans. Luckily, the alcohol helped sleep quickly find her. She fell into a deep sleep, filled with resurfaced memories of her sweet, pixie-haired friend.

 

* * *

 

“Oh, you’re a handsome boy!” Emma grinned as a large and fluffy black cat popped its head out of its cat carrier, looking around at its new surroundings. The cat was a senior, and had just been brought in by its two worried owners after the poor thing had been vomiting for an entire week. Emma looked over at the two female owners, presumably mother and daughter, who were both looking at the cat with pride.

It was Monday afternoon, a welcome relief after the weekend Emma had spent in her apartment drinking, occasionally working out and mostly catching up on Suits.

Emma begun her routine checks on the cat, checking for obstructions or lumps in its stomach, checking its kidney health and its gums. For an old cat, it was extremely healthy.

“I think the little fella’s just got overexcited and eaten a big furball. I can’t feel anything, which suggests that’s what he’s been throwing up over the week. Give him small bits of food, lots of water and love, and keep an eye on him.” Emma explained to the two owners. They visibly relaxed.

It took all three of them to get the large and handsome cat back into the cat carrier, the mother and daughter duo taking a strap each to take their pet home.

Emma relaxed into her chair once they’d left, rubbing hand sanitiser into her hands. She took a moment to look around her office. She’d had a hectic day, with an emergency surgery first thing followed by back to back appointments. Emma had barely had a lunch break. A hushed voice caught her ears, and she slowly stood up to follow it.

“ _Yeah, we’ll meet there at 9. I just need to get my mind off the fact I’m turning 29.”_

_“29, Viv? You’re a baby.”_

_“It doesn’t feel like it.”_

Emma realised it was the two receptionists sitting in the waiting area. She knew she shouldn’t be eavesdropping, nothing good ever came from it before, but she just couldn’t pull herself away.

“So who are you inviting to your birthday?”

“You, obviously. Sandra, Dan, Elizabeth, Breanna…”

“Basically, everyone but Emma.”

“Well now I feel bad.”

“Babe, it’s your birthday. Invite who you want.”

“I know. She’s nice and all…but she just seems odd. Who doesn’t have any friends or any family?”

“Does she not?”

“She never mentions anyone.”

“Could just be private?”

“No, she’s worked here for six months. We would have heard something. Also, have you seen her consultation room? There are no photos of anyone. Not even a pet.”

“That is weird.”

“Right?”

Emma had heard enough. She pulled herself away from her door and took a step back into her consultation room, her heart pounding and body tingling with rage. How _dare_ they speak about her like that? She wanted to storm into the waiting room and yell at them until that smirk fell off Vivi’s face and they felt bad about what they’d said. Not only were they not inviting her to something that everyone else in the practice had been invited to, they were disrespecting and gossiping about her in her workplace as well. A small voice stopped her.

_They’re right._

That thought deflated Emma’s anger like a popped balloon, and her breath caught in her throat and eyes filled with tears. They were right. She was odd, a freak, an orphan. Her mind reverted back to the days in the foster system where she would never befriend anyone out of fear of being hurt when she eventually was moved again. She had never made roots in her life, expecting to be whisked away at the drop of a hat, a trait she clearly continued into her adulthood.

With shaking legs, she sat down into her chair and let out a silent sob. She felt so small again and so unprotected. Taking in a deep breath, Emma tried to calm herself down. She had always been unprotected, so why would that change now?

Emma thought back to the message on her answerphone, an offer of a new life in a separate part of the country. If there was one thing that Emma Swan was good at, it was moving spontaneously.

“Why would I stay here?” Emma muttered to herself, looking at her aforementioned empty and clinical walls. She let out a disbelieving laugh, turning around and logging out of her computer. It was 4:00; she was going home and ringing Mary Margaret back.

Emma grabbed her bag and left her office, walking past Vivi and the other receptionist to the exit.

“Emma? You’re going home?” Vivi asked, frowning.

“Yep.” Emma replied curtly, fishing into her bag for her keys. She set about removing the clinics set while Vivi questioned her further.

“But it’s only 4! You have another appointment.” The receptionist exclaimed. Emma looked up and locked her steely green glare with the unsuspecting blonde.

“Give it to Breanna.”

“Is there something wrong?” Vivi was clearly bewildered by Emma’s sudden display of ferocity.

“Nope, nothing wrong.” Emma smiled back curtly, handing her office keys to Vivi. “Enjoy your birthday drinks.”

Emma squeezed the receptionists hand around her keys a little harder than was probably necessary, but the look on Vivi’s face made it worthwhile. Colour drained from her tanned face and she quickly looked to the other receptionist who was looking anywhere but at them. Emma scoffed, and walked out of the door for the last time. She would ring the owner later and give her notice.

The drive home was the nicest since she'd got there. The sky seemed brighter, the palm trees taller, the air fresher. Well, as fresh as air in downtown Miami could be. Amongst this new rush of emotions, she realised she hadn't even stopped to buy any drinks.

Dropping her bags and kicking off her shoes, she ran to her phone and jumped onto her couch. She redialled the number on her answerphone, her thumbnail between her teeth as she waited anxiously for the reply on the other end.

_“EMMA!”_

Emma laughed, holding the phone away from her ear as the woman on the other end screeched.

“Hi, M&M.”

“ _You completely RIDICULOUS woman! Where have you been? How are you? What have you been doing? Are you seeing anyone? Are you ringing me back because you want the job or because you missed me? Wait, don’t answer that. Of course you missed me. For God’s sake Emma! For such a clever person you are stupidly stupid.”_

Mary Margaret’s voice and enthusiasm just to talk to her acted like the strongest antacid Emma had ever taken, soothing the burning in her stomach and lifting the weight that had been sitting there for months. Instantly, she knew she’d made the right call. Figuratively, and literally.

Emma apologised through her laughter and tears. The two old friends caught up, taking hours just to revel in each others lives and stories. Emma was so happy to discover that Mary Margaret had married David, her crush from veterinary school, and the two had started a family together. Once they had set a date for Emma to start work in Maine and Mary Margaret had to leave to tuck one of her kids into bed, Emma realised the apartment had become dark.

She smiled to herself as she turned on all the lights. A real, genuine, excited smile.

Emma knocked on the door of the landlord upstairs, an overweight man in a wifebeater and jorts opening it. Emma grimaced.

“My notice.” Emma explained, handing him a letter. He frowned.

“Oh. Damn, where you headed?” He gruff voiced asked.

“Maine.”

“Damn.”

“Yep.”

“See ya kid.” The landlord mumbled, shutting the door in Emma’s face. She shrugged, and went back to her apartment. She’d pack up everything the next day for the removal vans on Thursday, not that there was much to pack up, but there was somewhere she had to go first.

Stepping inside the liquor store, she greeted Mr. Singh with a smile. Of course, it wasn’t reciprocated.

She headed over to a different section of the store for once, pulling out a pack of beer from the fridge. She didn’t feel like she needed the hard stuff today.

“You’ll never guess, Mr. Singh.” Emma grinned, handing him the beer. He grunted.

“I’m moving.” For once, non-glaring dark brown eyes looked up at her over glasses. They were almost sad. “To Maine.”

A grunt.

“Well…” Emma wrung her hands together before taking the paid-for alcohol off the counter. “Thanks anyways. For not telling me to shut up, and for providing my alcohol dependency.”

Half joke, half truth. Emma smiled and walked towards the door.

“Good luck, Emma.”

Emma swore she had misheard. The deep voice, laced with a beautiful and thick Indian accent, caught her completely off guard.

“Did you just…” Emma grinned, pointing at him. The old man rolled his eyes, sitting up straighter in his seat.

“See ya, Mr. Singh.” She waved, opening the door for another customer to come in. He replied with a sarcastic wave of his own. Shaking her head, she stepped out into the sunlight and for once, didn’t completely dread going back to her apartment.


	2. Chapter Two

“Therefore, this merger provides us with the most synergy for the companies involved. It would be beneficial…for my mother and the imp in charge of the other company.” Regina sighed, throwing her cue cards down onto her desk in frustration. This merger was such a bad idea, she could feel it in her bones.

It was a rainy Friday in Boston and much too cool for July. She had an important lunch meeting with the CEO of another company - a CEO whom she despised. She despised the man himself, his company, and everything his company stood for. Her mother, the previous CEO of Mills Construction PLC., loved the man and through Regina, was slowly but surely driving their companies towards a merger. _Ever the manipulator_ , she thought.

Her mother was going to be at the meeting today, giving Regina much anxiety. She smoothed her skirt down, sat into her chair and looked out onto the grey Boston skyline. Boston was nice, but she loved her town of Storybrooke more. She dreamed of quitting this job and running for its Mayor, but she knew that was never an option for her. Her mother would never allow it, and the citizens of Storybrooke didn’t exactly love her.

“Zelena?” Regina called from her desk. Her fiery haired assistant quickly hurried in, knowing how nervous the latina was about this meeting and eager to assuage it.

“Yes?”

“Would you be able to remind Mr. Jones that his financial statement needs to be in my inbox _today_ , please? Preferably also tell him to lose the guyliner, but that might come under harassment.” Regina quipped. Zelena’s lips quirked at the joke, thinking of the rum-smelling, leather-wearing Financial Director.

“No problem. Anything else?”

“On a scale of one to ten, how detrimental do you believe this merger will be for the company?” Regina asked. Her British assistant didn’t even need a minute to think.

“Eleven.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Regina sighed, standing up and smoothing her skirt again. “Please tell Jefferson I will be downstairs in five minutes. I wouldn’t dare be late for Cora Mills.”

“Sure. Good luck, Regina. You’ll smash it.” Zelena smiled, her blue eyes shining. Regina smiled back, squeezing Zelena’s arm in gratitude before pulling her light jacket off the hook and slipping into it. Zelena had been Regina’s assistant before she had been elected by the board to CEO following her mother’s resignation. Regina had become so dependent on the hot-headed redhead, she didn’t think she’d be able to have anyone else as her assistant. They got on so well, and had known each other for so long - they were almost sisters.

Regina slipped into the corporate car waiting outside the building, typing an email furiously to the head of legal. They were meant to have read over the other CEO’s terms and conditions before the lunch meeting, but by the sound of things they had inundated her legal department with waffle and contained clauses that referred them all over the contract so that it was taking hours to read a single page. It confirmed Regina’s suspicions that they were hiding something, and Gold & Co. were not to be trusted. Now, she was going into the meeting blind.

Her car was cutting through the Boston traffic expertly at the skilled hands of her sometimes neurotic driver, Jefferson. It was cutting close as they neared the restaurant. If she was late, she’d never hear the end of it. Luckily, she was dropped off outside the restaurant with a minute to spare.

She smoothed her skirt, again, and ran her fingers through her straightened dark hair. She had touched up her lipstick in the car and painted them the dark red that gave her the most confidence. Lord knows, she’d need it today.

“Ah, Regina, darling.” Cora Mills, a woman in her late sixties with hard dark eyes and auburn hair pulled back into an impeccable and elegant chignon, stood up. Regina politely kissed her mother on both cheeks before taking the seat on the other side of her.

“I see we are waiting on Mr. Gold.” Regina commented, gesturing to the empty seat on the other side of the table.

“Now Regina, please do not embarrass me. I know you are not a fan of Mr. Gold’s, but he will be good for my company.” Cora explained patronisingly. It took every fibre of Regina’s being in that moment to not roll her eyes.

“My company.” Regina muttered under her breath. Cora’s head snapped up, dark eyes trained on Regina and blood-red lips pressed into a hard line. She reminded Regina of a venomous snake, ready to attack and kill its prey.

“What was that, darling?” Cora asked, her voice careful.

“Nothing, Mother.” Regina replied, looking away. Cora hummed.

“Good girl. Sit up straight and act like a lady, I can see Mr. Gold arriving now.”

That interaction determined the rest of the meal. Most of the negotiations occurred between Mr. Gold and Cora, and whenever Regina interjected she was told she was being rude or not contributing anything useful. By the time the main course had been cleared away, she was ready to stab herself in the eye with the fork just to get out of staying for the rest of it. Would her mother even care? Probably not.

“I know I have your confidence, Mrs. Mills, but I would like to hear what your young CEO has to say.” Mr. Gold gestured towards Regina, pulling her out of her eye-gouging fantasies.

Regina held eye contact with the man for a second before looking over to her Mother. Cora was wearing an expression as if to say _answer carefully, or you will regret it._

 _“_ I believe there is a lot to work with here, and given time and proper review of the terms and conditions with some potential revisions, I see no reason why this merger shouldn’t happen.” _Except it will destroy me_ , Regina thought.

“Young Regina, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that.” Mr. Gold enthused with his Scottish lilt. His one golden tooth was exposed as he smiled at her, thoroughly repulsing her. _Young Regina_. Now all she wanted to do was gouge _his_ eyes out with a fork. Instead, she balled her fists under the table and plastered her fake diplomatic smile onto her own face.

“Well, this has been delightful and thoroughly productive. I’m afraid I’m going to have to go.” Mr. Gold stood up, offering his hand to Cora. Both Cora and Regina stood up and Cora shook his hand.

“Of course. I’m sure Regina will get her assistant Sabrina to organise another lunch sometime soon.” Cora smiled.

“Zelena.” Regina corrected, shaking Mr. Gold’s hand herself. She felt her mother stiffen next to her.

“Hmm. I look forward to it.” Mr. Gold, still holding onto Regina’s hand, leaned forward slightly. Regina could make out the rough texture of the skin on his face which slightly glimmered. When he let go and began to leave, she had to swallow some bile. Regina had never met someone who repulsed her as much as Mr. Gold did. Once he had left, she quickly had her jacket on and picked up her handbag. Her mother looked surprised.

“Oh, you’re leaving?” Cora asked, frowning.

“Yes, it’s a long drive back to Storybrooke.” Regina explained. Cora hummed disapprovingly. “Besides, you’re in the middle of a Senate campaign. Surely you want to get back to that.”

“I suppose.” Cora nodded.

“See you soon, Mother.” Regina kissed her mother on the cheek again and quickly departed.

She didn’t relax until she was in the back of her corporate car, letting out a long sigh of relief and slouching slightly into the comfortable leather seat. Jefferson smirked at her through the rear-view mirror.

“Where to?” Jefferson asked, putting on his hat. Regina never knew why he wore his ridiculous top hat; it wasn’t part of the uniform and she certainly never requested it.

“The car park, please, Jefferson. I think I’m going to call it a week.” Regina requested.

“Sure thing, Miss Mills.”

Regina had never been more relieved to see her black Mercedes. She put her handbag into the back of it and sat in the drivers seat. For a few minutes, she just sat in the car park in complete silence. She absolutely loved the drive home from Boston to Storybrooke, but once she got home…not so much.

Eventually she mustered the will power to turn the car on, and began to drive home. Soft music filtered out of her car radio as she passed through the different landscapes. The built up metropolis of Boston, the tree-lined I-95 as she passed through New Hampshire and the Hamptons, the bridges over the creeks and rivers in Portsmouth as she crossed into Maine, and finally the distinct architecture of her hometown of Storybrooke, Maine. She turned her Mercedes down Mifflin Street, pulling up outside her home which boasted colonial revival architecture.

Letting herself in, Regina picked up the letters that had been pushed through the letter box that day.

“Robin?” She called out, looking through the envelopes. They were all addressed to Robin, and so she left them on the wooden counter at the side. She called again for her husband, and upon getting no response, removed her heels and walked into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and sipped on it slowly as she leaned against the counter.

Knowing Robin, he was probably still at work and wouldn’t be returning until near midnight, or had gone shooting with his friends. Either option left her alone in her large house for at least six hours.

Regina spent those six hours perfecting her lasagne recipe, watching some reality TV, eating said lasagne and then reading over the financial statement that had finally been sent to her. By midnight she was thoroughly tired, and thoroughly bored. The front door slamming open startled her.

“Reginaaaaa!” Regina closed her eyes, immediately detecting Robin’s drunkenness from two floors away. Shooting it was, then.

“I’m upstairs, Robin.” Regina called back, closing her laptop lid. He never liked to find her working at night. She’d like to think that it was because he cared about her wellbeing, but a nagging feeling told her it was something else. A couple stumbles up the stairs later and her husband swayed into the room.

“I’ve missed you, my love.” Robin smiled at her, giving her a quick peck on the lips. Regina gave him a close lipped smile, squeezing his hand.

“Did you enjoy shooting?” She asked, stifling a yawn.

“I did, very much. One of the lads brought his young son along. We’ve really got to try harder to get one of those.” Robin whispered in what, he assumed, to be a seductive manner. Regina sighed.

“Robin, not now.” His face fell.

“Why not, Regina? We’re married, we have an amazing house, we’re happy. Why can’t we have our own children?”

“We will, one day. Now is just not a great time.” Regina explained. They had this argument at least every two days and Regina was honestly getting sick of it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want children, but Robin never seemed to understand that it was her body that would be going through the trauma of pregnancy and childbirth and she just didn’t want it at the moment.

Robin huffed, leaving Regina’s study. Regina shook her head, turning off the light and heading to their bed. She was quickly asleep, only disturbed by her drunken husband accidentally knocking into the bed before settling into it.

* * *

 

Out of breath, she sprinted towards the ball. Regina swung her racket expertly to knock the tennis ball just over the net but out of Katherine’s reach. She smiled, having won the game. The sun beat down on the pair which caused beads of perspiration to roll down Regina’s face and neck.

“I say we get out of this sun!” Katherine yelled from the other side of the court as she drank from her water bottle. Regina nodded, and the two made their way into the clubhouse. They showered and changed before meeting each other on the deck to enjoy some drinks and lunch. Katherine and Regina had done this every Saturday for years, Regina’s only reprieve from her home and from Robin during the weekends.

“I’ve noticed you don’t seem yourself lately. Anything bothering you?” Katherine asked, squinting at Regina through the sun while she sipped on her mojito. Regina frowned. She knew there were many things wrong but she just couldn’t put her finger on them. It was more of just a general feeling of everything being wrong.

“Not anything in particular.” Regina shrugged. “How about you and Frederick?”

“Great, but stop deflecting. Is it a work thing?” Katherine inquired further.

“Yes, obviously. My mother is going to run my company into the ground. But…it’s not just that. I look forward to going home every day and then when I get home, I look forward to going back to work. It’s like I just can’t be happy anywhere.” Regina explained.

“Have you talked about this with Robin?” Katherine asked.

“No, he’d become paranoid again. He’s busy trying to earn his promotion at his company and whenever I bring up being unhappy with work, he tries to get me to quit and have children.”

“And you don’t want that?”

“No, not right now. I want to deal with this merger first, and then Robin should get his promotion and then I’ll think about it.” Regina explained. Katherine thought for a second, putting down her drink.

“It sounds to me like you’re just putting off having kids. Trust me, there’s never a perfect time. Is having children with Robin something you truly want?” Katherine asked, her blue eyes boring into her friend’s brown ones.

Regina was going to quickly give her automated answer of _yes, of course_ before she stopped. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about that question, never wanting to know what her true answer was. Adrenaline shot through her veins, terrified at the idea that maybe she didn’t want children with her husband. Katherine was looking at her with a worried expression while Regina deliberated.

“I’m…not sure.” Regina admitted.

“Okay.” Katherine nodded, taking Regina’s hand. “Don’t rush into anything, but you know that.”

Regina nodded, and the two sat in silence for a moment with the weight of Regina’s admission on them. Katherine wanted to ask her more, but she felt that that had been enough for one lunch.

“I think you might be lonely.” Katherine suggested. Regina scoffed.

“Lonely? Why would I be lonely?” Regina asked.

“You sound lonely. Obviously you have me, you have Zelena, but it sounds to me as if there is a distance between Robin and yourself and you feel alone. Am I wrong?” Katherine explained. Judging by the look on Regina’s face, she had hit the nail on the head.

“What do you suggest I do, then?” Regina asked, her voice thick. Katherine’s heart broke at her friend’s glistening eyes and slightly trembling lip.

“Only you know the answer to that, my love.” Katherine squeezed Regina’s hand tighter. “I know that when I feel sad or lonely, Jimmy does wonders to cheer me up.”

Jimmy was Katherine’s beloved dog. Regina never bonded with the animal, finding it far too attention-seeking and yappy.

“So you think I should get a puppy?” Regina asked, raising her eyebrows. Katherine smiled.

“Why not? And it might help you decide whether having children with Robin is something that would work.” Katherine explained, giving Regina food for thought.

“What if I find out that I don’t want children with him? I can’t leave him, it’s not like there’s anyone else. He’s perfect for me but there’s something wrong with me-.” Regina started

“Stop right there. There is nothing wrong with you, Regina Mills, and don’t you dare settle. If you realise that Robin doesn’t make you happy, then leave him. You deserve to be happy.” Katherine lectured, holding Regina’s eye contact to be sure the brunette was catching everything. Regina closed her eyes, sighing.

 _No you don’t._ The voice inside Regina’s head yelled back with an equally authoritative tone as Katherine. This was why Regina didn’t like to think too much. That voice, usually her mother’s, would come creeping into her head and terrorising her in a place where she couldn’t get rid of her. Katherine could see that Regina was overwhelmed and emotional, squeezing her hand again to pull her out of her thoughts.

“Enough of that. Go get a puppy and bring him next Saturday. We can go on a double date.” Katherine suggested, making Regina laugh. Only Katherine would suggest something as absurd as that.

After her lunch with Katherine, Regina knew she couldn’t go straight home to Robin. She drove around Storybrooke for a bit, stopped by the diner where she met the new waitress, Dorothy, and avoided the old woman that owned the place who was out the back. Picking up a coffee for herself and a beer for Robin, she drove back to her house and prepared herself for a talk with him about potentially adopting a dog. The more she thought about it, the more she realised it was a good idea.

Robin clearly didn’t think so.

“I just don’t understand why you are so adamant about not having children, but then want to adopt a dog?” Robin complained, slamming his beer down onto the table. Regina winced.

“They are completely different things! A child is another person who we have to raise, feed, love, instil values and educate for the rest of our lives. A dog is something different entirely.” Regina explained, trying to keep her voice calm. It would do them no good for her to lose her temper.

“Where would this dog even stay when we’re working, Regina? It makes no sense! You know how hard I’m working for this promotion. You may have been lucky enough to have a mother who gave you your position, but some of us have to work-“

“Don’t you dare insinuate that I was just _handed_ my position. I was elected by the board and I am running the company excellently. I am sorry that you feel jealous, or whatever else, but don’t tell me that I didn’t deserve my job.” Regina was yelling now, her finger in Robin’s face.

“That’s not what I was saying.” Robin tried to defend himself, angering Regina more.

“That’s exactly what you were saying, and don’t you dare try to backpedal. As for the dog, I would bring it with me to work. Luckily, no one will care as I was just handed my position anyway.” Regina hissed, throwing Robin’s words back at him and storming out of the room, signalling the end of the conversation. She heard Robin groan in exasperation and the beer bottle being flung against the floor, but as long as he cleaned it up she didn’t care.

For the rest of the weekend, the two tiptoed around each other. The anger from their argument had disappeared after a few hours, but the awkwardness had remained. They ate dinner in silence on Sunday, Regina leaving as soon as she was finished to go to bed for the night. She lay in the dark, listening for the sounds of Robin walking up the stairs. Eventually they came, and she screwed her eyes shut to pretend she was asleep. However, they stopped just outside the door, and instead she heard the guest room door open. She heard the bedsprings of the other bed move as Robin climbed into the guest bed, and she was simultaneously relieved and heartbroken.

She rolled onto her side, her pretence of being asleep long forgotten. Her heart hurt in her chest, her stomach heavy and she finally let the tears that had been building up for days slip past her dark eyelashes. Sleep took a while to find her that night.

* * *

 

“The animal shelter, please.” Regina asked the cab driver as she climbed in. He nodded, driving the cab out of the taxi rank. The drive was quiet between her office and the shelter, her stomach swirling with nervousness and excitement for what she was going to do.

They arrived and she paid and thanked the driver, quickly walking into the shelter. She was definitely excited now.

“Hi, Regina Mills. We spoke on the phone earlier.” Regina introduced herself to the receptionist who nodded, handing her a form.

“Fill this out and hand it back, and then we can take a look at which dog you’d like to adopt.” The receptionist explained. Regina hurried through the form as her hand trembled slightly, making her handwriting more scrawny than her usual elegant cursive.

“This all looks good. How about we take a look?” The receptionist smiled. Regina responded with a nervous smile of her own, and the two women walked into the back of the shelter.

The shelter was loud, all the animals making different noises at different volumes and pitches. It was overwhelming for a second, but Regina quickly got used to it as the receptionist walked down the aisle and told her something about each dog. Her heart went out to all of them, and they all looked lovely and sweet. A couple were a bit growly, causing Regina to take a cautious step away from the barrier while the receptionist laughed at her.

They were getting closer to the end and Regina hadn’t yet seen a dog that fully caught her attention, starting to make her question her decision. Suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks by sad, dark brown eyes. They looked like chocolate and caramel swirling together and belonged to the most adorable dog that Regina had ever seen.

The wind knocked out of her, Regina knelt down by the cage where this dog was lying down with its head on its paws. The dog slowly moved its eyes up to look at Regina, and she gasped. The dog’s eyes reminded her of her own, and she started to feel a lump in her throat.

“Hi there.” Regina laughed, her voice thick with emotion. She looked around the barrier, trying to find any piece of information about the puppy. There was no big description about him like with the other dogs, only a small sticker that read ‘Hi! My name is : _Henry_.’.

“Hello there, Henry.” Regina repeated. The puppy stirred at her voice, keeping their eyes locked. He slowly lifted himself up, stepping right up to the barrier where her hand was resting against. He sniffed her hand for a few seconds, before a tiny, tentative pink tongue peeked out and licked her fingers. Regina laughed, tears falling down her cheeks.

“Oh my god.” The receptionist gasped, watching the interaction. “Henry hasn’t responded to anyone since he arrived.”

“Aren’t you a little prince?” Regina smiled, gently rubbing behind the dog’s ears. He clearly was enjoying it, tilting his head to give her better access.

“He’s a flat-coated retriever. Our guess is around 6 weeks old. He was found with his family missing. He must have been abandoned by the owner who couldn’t take care of him.” The receptionist explained.

“Oh, Henry.” Regina sighed sympathetically, looking into the intense, brown eyes. “Can I adopt him?”

“Yes, of course. Henry really likes you.” The receptionist nodded, still shocked by the sudden show of affection from the abandoned puppy. Regina stood up and reached over the barrier, carefully lifting the puppy out of it after the receptionist told her to follow her.

Henry squirmed a bit at first, scared and confused. After a while, as Regina was signing all the adoption papers, he rested into her chest and begun to close his eyes.

“Thank you.” Regina smiled at the receptionist, especially as she realised the small puppy had fallen asleep in her arms. The receptionist smiled back at the pair, waving goodbye as Regina carried Henry out of the shelter and started the journey to take Henry to Storybrooke.


	3. Chapter Three

_Storybrooke Vet Hospital_

Why a tiny town tucked away in a tiny corner of Maine needed an entire vet hospital, Emma didn’t know. But, she was going to roll with it anyway. 

“Em, this will be your receptionist - Ruby.” Emma looked down from the sign hanging above the door to the woman that Mary Margaret was gesturing to. Emma could instantly see that Ruby was a very attractive woman. Tall with long and healthy brown hair, Ruby smiled at her and held out her hand. 

“Nice to meet ya’” Ruby grinned. Emma smiled and shook her hand. 

“You too.” 

“Right, I better shoot off. You’re not going to have any appointments until this afternoon because I wanted to give you the morning to settle in. Lucas, look after her.” Mary Margaret explained, pointing at the tall woman. Ruby mock-saluted. Mary Margaret gave Emma a quick hug and then walked out the door, leaving Emma to her practice. 

“So…do you live in Storybrooke?” Emma asked, clapping her hands together. Ruby had walked back over to her desk. 

“Yep! Always have, probably always will. Thought about leaving though.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, a tiny town…not exactly the best dating pool.” Ruby smiled, winking at her. Emma instantly liked her. “So where are you from, Emma Swan?”

“Everywhere.” Emma replied, knowing full well her answer was vague. 

“Okay. It won’t take you long to settle in here, I can introduce you to everyone. There’s a sort of communal place that everyone goes.” Ruby explained. Even though Emma had bounced around a lot through her life, she’d never found herself in a small town. It was sounding more and more like what she thought a small town would be like, or had seen on _Gilmore Girls._

“You really don’t have to, I don’t wanna intrude.” Emma said from her consulting room as she was having a snoop. 

“It’s no bother, Emma, honestly! My Granny owns the place and my girlfriend works there.” That stopped Emma in her tracks. She poked her head around the door, looking at Ruby. Well, she wasn’t expecting that. 

“Girlfriend?” Emma asked. Ruby’s face fell and her eyes immediately lost their warmth. 

“Is that going to be an issue for you?” Ruby asked, her voice carefully level. Emma held her hands up, eyes wide. 

“No, no, not at all. I’m bi myself, actually.” Emma quickly corrected, anxious not to offend her. Ruby immediately relaxed, smiling again. 

“Oh! Cool. I could tell.” Ruby quipped. Emma scoffed. 

“How on earth could you tell?” Emma laughed. 

“Oh, the boots, the leather jacket, the way you walk. I could drop you right into the middle of the _L Word_ and there’s no doubt you’d be gay.” Ruby teased, her tongue between her teeth as Emma rolled her eyes. 

“I don’t walk gay.” Emma huffed, shaking out her legs. Ruby snorted. 

“Sure you don’t. Walk away, I got work to do.” Ruby shooed Emma with her hand. 

“I’m pretty sure I’m your boss.” Emma replied, resting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at Ruby. 

“You get used to me.” Ruby replied, already reading over some paperwork. Emma scoffed and shook her head to herself, holding back a laugh, as she walked into her consultation room and inspected the OR in the back. Well, Ruby was certainly different to Vivi and that was definitely not a bad thing.

True to her word, Ruby marched into Emma’s consultation room as soon as the last owner and their pet left at 5pm, demanding that the blonde come with her to get a drink. 

“Jesus, give a girl a second!” Emma laughed, untying and removing her scrub top that was clearly designed by Mary Margaret. It was a baby blue colour with small paw prints all over it. There was a small cartoon cat and dog face by her left breast pocket. 

The two women locked up the practice for the weekend, and Emma took a second to revel in her new surroundings when instead of being hit by the overwhelming close heat of Miami, she was met with the fresh, salty air of a Maine seaside town. Ruby insisted they walked as nowhere was particularly far, and the pair arrived outside Granny’s Diner a few minutes later. 

“This is pretty much the town’s watering hole. Everything and everyone passes through here.” Ruby winked, pulling Emma into the diner by her hand. Emma shook her head, wondering for the first time what she’d gotten herself into. 

Her reception reminded her of one of those old-time Wild West movies. The stranger opens the saloon’s doors; everyone looks up, the guy at the piano stops playing, the bartender drops their drink. That was pretty much how it went. Emma was stood, paralysed, by the entrance as at least thirty different people looked at her and silence fell across what had previously been a jovial atmosphere. 

“Guys, really? This is Emma. She’s Mary Margaret’s replacement at the Vet Hospital. Emma?” Ruby gestured for Emma to follow her, and once Emma had gotten over her initial shock she was able to walk behind her new friend. They took a seat at the counter and soon everyone resumed their conversations - much to Emma’s relief. 

“Yeah, sorry. If I’d told you that was gonna happen you never would have come in here.” Ruby grimaced. 

“Damn right.” Emma laughed in disbelief, now taking the time to look around the diner. She’d never seen such a strange collection of people. They all looked like they’d been taken from all over the world and different times and just shoved into one random diner. 

“Storybrooke is pretty unique, it’s why I love it. I’ll explain who everyone is after we get a drink.” Ruby suggested, gesturing for two shots from the old woman who just walked into the room. 

“Get it yourself, you lazy cow.” The old woman snorted, looking back down at her book. Emma blinked. Well, that was an interesting way to run a business. 

“Granny, meet Emma. Our newest addition in town.” Ruby explained. The old woman’s head snapped up, a blush dusting her cheeks. 

“Oh my, I’m so sorry. Ruby is my granddaughter, you see. What can I get you?” Granny had kind eyes, something Emma immediately noticed. She also clearly had Ruby’s sense of humour. 

“Two tequila shots, please, my loving grandmother.” Ruby teased, earning an eye roll from Granny. She flipped Ruby the bird, muttering to herself as she went off to make the drink. 

“This town is crazy.” Emma laughed, rubbing her forehead. 

“You don’t know the half of it. Right, quick introduction. Those 7 over there? They work in the mine. They’re all short so we call them the Seven Dwarves. They even _whistle_ on their way to work.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Over there is the town therapist and his Dalmatian, Pongo. He’s a regular. He loves that dog so damn much we’re almost over-vaccinating the poor thing.” Ruby pointed to a man with curly ginger hair, glasses on the end of his nose and the same kind eyes that most people in this town seemed to possess. 

“There’s Bo and her boyfriend August. She has sheep, we get called out to them quite a lot especially in birthing season.” 

“Bo…has sheep? As in-“

“Little Bo Peep? Yeah, she loves that joke. You should really tell it to her.” Ruby grinned. Emma shoved her. 

“Cindy and Thomas. She’s expecting. Over there is Peter and Smee, no one really knows much about them. Over there are the women we call the _Queens of Darkness_. Cruella, Ursula and Mal.” 

“…Is everyone in this town playing a joke on me? Did they know I was coming and think this would be funny? I mean, it is. Just seems like a lot of effort.” Emma shrugged, pointing over to the three women. Cruella had half-white, half-black hair that reminded Emma of a Battenberg cake. Her excessive cloak was made out of something that clearly made Pongo, in the next booth, extremely uncomfortable. Ursula had long accessories in her hair that looked suspiciously like seaweed, and Mal had a sinister look in her eyes and cheekbones for days. 

“It takes some getting used to.” Ruby shrugged. 

“So is everyone in this town named after a fairytale character?” Emma asked, frowning.

“No, not everyone. I’m not!” Ruby smiled. Emma raised one eyebrow, lifting up the hood to Ruby’s red cloak. 

“Really?” Emma deadpanned. Ruby laughed. 

“Oh, and this…” Ruby grabbed the hand of the waitress walking past. “Is my girlfriend, Dorothy.” 

“Nice to meet you, Dorothy.” Emma smiled at her. Dorothy, just like Ruby, was instantly attractive. Her face was slightly rounder, but her lips fuller. Dorothy smiled. 

“Ah, Emma Swan, right? Mary Margaret’s been raving about you for the past week. I only wanted her coffee order this morning and she told me all about your first year at veterinary school.” Emma flushed with embarrassment, unused to such praise. 

“I’ll have a word with her about that.” Emma grimaced, but Dorothy giggled. 

“No, it’s sweet! How do you find Storybrooke?” Dorothy asked. Ruby moved her arm around her girlfriend’s waist, resting her head against her arm. 

“Honestly? One of the weirdest places I’ve ever seen.” Emma admitted, looking around again at all the patrons. 

“You found that too, didn’t you?” Ruby asked, looking up at Dorothy from where she was sat. Dorothy nodded. 

“Oh yeah, definitely. It’s not even the people who come here a lot that are the weirdest. There are some people that live in Storybrooke, but only appear in here like once a month.” Dorothy explained. Emma frowned. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, I guess you’d know more than me. Arthur, right?” Ruby asked Dorothy. 

“Arthur, for one. He lives in the woods for some reason. Super weird. Actually, guess who came in last Saturday? I forgot to tell you!” Dorothy turned to face Ruby. 

“Alice?” 

“No, but close. Regina Mills. She came in and bought a couple things while Granny was out the back and didn’t even wait to speak to her!” Dorothy exclaimed and Ruby shook her head, her expression clouding over.

“Sorry, who’s Regina Mills?” Emma asked, interrupting the couples’ conversation. 

“Have you seen that beautiful mansion on Mifflin Street? She lives there with her husband Robin, but we never see her around town. Her husband goes shooting with Sheriff Graham and a couple others at least twice a week, but she is never seen. I think she’s the CEO of a huge company in Boston, but it seems strange to stay in a small town two hours away if you’re not even going to integrate into the community.” Ruby explained. Upon Ruby’s explanation, Emma pictured a woman in her late fifties with greying hair and the same kind eyes as everyone else in this town. 

“What’s Robin like? That could explain it.” Emma suggested. 

“I thought about that, but he doesn’t seem anything bad. Sheriff Graham is always saying how he is ‘ _good craic’_ ” Dorothy tried to imitate an Irish accent, making Ruby cringe and Emma laugh. 

“Stick to the waitressing, babe.” Ruby grinned, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. Dorothy smirked, lightly slapping Ruby on the cheek before waving goodbye to Emma and serving the table where the Seven Dwarves, as Ruby called them, were sat. 

“You two seem really happy. How long have you been together?” Emma asked. 

“Not long, actually. Dorothy came to town about a month and a bit ago, but she’s settled in so quickly. That’s the good thing about this town. If you want to, you’ll integrate crazy quickly.” Ruby explained. At that moment, Granny turned up with two shot glasses with tequila in them, a cut lime and salt. 

“Sorry, the lime took forever to find. Bottom’s up, girls.” Granny smiled, putting a shot glass down in front of Emma and Ruby each. They poured salt onto the back of their hands and then licked it, threw back the shot and then stuffed the lime into their mouths to get rid of the burning from the alcohol. 

“Jesus Granny, what tequila is that?” Ruby coughed, laughing at Emma’s scrunched up face. 

“Babies.” Granny teased before turning to clean the coffee machine. 

Emma and Ruby ended up taking a few more shots before moving on to mixers, and Granny’s Diner morphed into a bar as the night wore on. It was packed full with the entire town and everyone knew each other. Emma had never seen anything quite like it. She wondered how nice it must be for everyone to know they had a place they belonged to. A place where they wouldn’t be forgotten or fall into the shadows and no-one would notice or care. That’s what bothered her so much about this Regina Mills. Even though she had no idea who the woman was, she was confused how you couldn’t find your feet in a place like this.

“Something on your mind?” Met with a smooth Irish accent, Emma immediately knew that this was Sheriff Graham. She turned around and the Sheriff was leaning against the counter. He was incredibly attractive, with bright blue eyes and a 5 o’clock shadow well past five. 

“Hi.” Emma smiled, offering her hand. He shook it, smiling back at her.

“You must be the new person in town. I’m the Sheriff, so if you have any problems, just let me know.” He offered. 

“That’s really nice, thanks. This doesn’t really seem like the kind of town with a lot of issues, though.” Emma shrugged, gesturing to the bustling diner. 

“No, you’re right. The worst we get is a couple of the dwarves getting overexcited at happy hour.” Graham explained, making Emma laugh. 

“So everyone seriously calls them the Seven Dwarves and they don’t care?” Emma asked, and Graham shook his head. 

“They made it up themselves! They whistle through the town with their pickaxes every morning.” Graham laughed. 

“I can’t wait to see that.” Emma giggled. The alcohol she’d consumed was clearly getting to her. Sheriff Graham smiled at her for second, taking a sip of his beer. Emma noticed that Ruby had gone from the seat next to her, probably to chat to the townspeople. She fully turned to face Graham. 

“Okay, I have a question.” Emma asked, holding his eye contact. 

“Shoot.”

“If everyone here is a fairytale character, who are you Sheriff Graham?” Emma questioned, leaning forward. Graham chuckled.

“How is everyone here a fairytale character?” Graham asked, matching Emma’s body language. 

“You don’t see it? C’mon, there’s the Seven Dwarves over there, “Cindy”, Cruella de-freaking-Ville and I am pretty sure I just saw Smee from Peter Pan.” Emma laughed, gesturing to the inebriated citizens. 

“An interesting outside perspective! Okay then. I guess…I’d be the Huntsman.” Graham suggested. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Tough, handsome, but a big softy on the inside.” Graham winked at her. Emma laughed. 

“You give yourself a lot of credit.” Emma teased. Graham pretended to be offended. 

“You think it’s undeserved?” He asked.

“Not entirely.” Emma admitted. Graham’s blue eyes were trained on Emma’s green ones, flitting between the two and down to her lips. She felt him lean in and she briefly considered it. He was attractive, definitely, but maybe getting off with the small town’s Sheriff on her first proper night there wasn’t the best idea. 

“Graham…” Emma stopped the Sheriff in his tracks. A blush quickly grew up his neck and onto his cheeks. 

“Ah, Emma, I’m sorry.” He apologised quickly, putting distance between the two. 

“No, no, don’t apologise.” Emma reached for his hand. “It’s just my first night here, and I’d really love to get to know you and everyone properly before…” 

“I get it, don’t worry. We rarely get new people here and you are incredibly beautiful, so I just got carried away.” He admitted. Emma blushed, smiling at the compliment. 

“Thank you, Graham. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you.” Emma squeezed his hand, and he smiled at her. 

“Likewise. Ah Jesus, I think that’s Leroy trying to fight Tiny.” Graham groaned, looking at the far end of the diner. 

“ _Tiny?”_ Emma exclaimed, looking at a ridiculously tall man with an even wider waistline and beard that Leroy was trying to punch. Leroy barely made it past Tiny’s legs. 

“Bit of a town joke.” Graham laughed. “I’m gonna have to go break this up, but I’ll see you around Emma.” 

“Definitely.” Emma replied. She watched as Graham walked over to the fighting pair, standing between Tiny and Leroy. Leroy tried to move around Graham’s legs but in the end, Graham just took a hold of him and handcuffed him, quickly taking him out of the diner. 

Emma realised how much of a contrast this was to her last Friday night, where she had sat alone in her undecorated and dark apartment. She had only been in this weird town for a day and a half and she had already made more friends than she had in two years. She looked around at the laughter and love that filled the diner, suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude to Mary Margaret for bringing her somewhere that she felt that she could potentially one day call home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments, it really means a lot! Sorry the chapter's pretty short, but it's setting up the story for much longer chapters very soon :)


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the moment you've been waiting for! Thank you for all the kind comments and kudos, it seriously makes my day. I hope you enjoy this chapter, the next one is about 3x longer! :)

Since her first night, Emma had settled into the town very quickly. She had moved in with Ruby, done grocery shopping at least twice, and true to everyone’s word had seen the Seven Dwarves whistling on their way to work. That had put her in a good mood for the whole damn day.

It had been a week and was an incredibly slow Friday afternoon. The heatwave from earlier in the week had broken, giving way to thunderstorms along the eastern seaboard. It had caught her on her way to work as well as during her lunch break. 

“Rubes, any idea where Archie and Pongo are at?” Emma called from her consultation room. She was in her desk chair with her feet up on the bed, ankles crossed. 

“Nope! Must be caught in the thunderstorm.” Ruby yelled back from her desk. Emma sighed. It’s not like she was flooded with appointments and any lateness shifted her entire day, but Storybrooke was a small town so it was kind of impossible to be late. And inconsiderate. The days here were much easier paced than in Miami. There were about half the patients and a much more personal touch. She learnt everything about the pet and the owner and more often than not, ended up seeing them at Granny’s or in the grocery store later that day and continuing the conversation.

Emma decided to spend the time productively, at least, and went into the OR to clean up a few things. She had spayed a kitten earlier in the day and even though she had cleared up straight away, another wipe down of the surfaces couldn’t hurt. She glanced up at the clock. 

_3:12_

Pongo had been due in for a general health check up at 3. Ruby informed her that he received them every month or so which Emma found ridiculous. Still, she was getting paid. 

Emma sat back down into her chair, blowing a puff of air out of her cheeks. 

_3:15_

Wow, she hadn’t even killed five minutes. Emma was brought out of her thoughts by the bell over the front door jingling. She hopped up and reached for Pongo’s file, leafing through the last visit quickly to see what the dog had already been checked for. Strangely, she didn’t hear the sound of Archie’s shoes or Pongo’s paws on the floor. There was only low talking. Then, slightly higher pitched talking. Then, shouting. 

“Woah, woah, what the hell is going on?” Emma yelled, storming into the waiting area. Ruby had a face like thunder and was staring at a soaking wet brunette woman who had her back to Emma. The woman turned around with a frantic expression and was clutching onto a bundle of blankets. She had dripping dark chestnut brown hair, smudged make-up and eyes full with tears but underneath it all, Emma could see that the woman’s features were strong yet stunning. Before she knew what she was doing, her eyes raked down the intruder’s body where an expensive blouse was now see-through and stuck to the woman’s skin from the rain, revealing an olive-toned stomach and soft curves. This woman was unlike anything Emma had seen before. Her eyes snapped back up to the questioning chocolate brown ones. Her painted lips were slightly parted as they held eye contact, warmth beginning to build up in Emma’s chest while a cold shiver ran down her spine. She had to look away, the stranger’s gaze like fire and ice at the same time. 

“She just came storming in here, demanding an immediate appointment and when I told her we were booked up until 4, she started threatening me!” Ruby explained, glaring at the brunette. The other woman scoffed, tightening her hold on the bundle of blankets in her arm. She turned to look back to Emma, her eyes desperate and pleading. Emma eventually looked down and realised that what the brunette had been holding in her arms was a puppy - she could see a small paw and a little ear through the blanket which was trembling, causing her to make a snap decision. 

“Rubes, if Archie comes in, tell him I had to take an emergency appointment and I’ve pushed Pongo back till 4.” Emma explained, beckoning the woman to follow her. Ruby nodded, sitting back down at her desk while Emma opened the door of her consultation room for the other woman. 

“What’s your name? Just so I can grab your file.” Emma explained, pulling on her white lab coat. The woman shook her head. 

“You won’t have one. I adopted Henry last week.” She replied quietly, looking down to the still hidden puppy in her arms. Her voice was low and silky and reignited that fire in Emma’s chest again. 

“Right. Would you mind if I took a look at Henry?” Emma asked softly, walking towards the woman. She lifted her head and steeled her glare on the vet. 

“Of course. Why else would I have brought him here?” She snapped. Emma stopped in her place and held her hands up. 

“Woah, okay. You just seemed distressed. Could you put him on the table then?” Emma gestured to the central table covered in a plastic mat. She watched as the woman slowly nodded, walking to the table and gently moved Henry onto it. She was already concerned when she saw that the blanket, or rather what was inside of it, wasn’t moving as it was transitioned. 

“It’s Regina, by the way. Regina Mills.” Regina said with much less bite, unwrapping the puppy like a delicate Christmas present. Emma’s mouth fell open, staring at the brunette. Regina Mills? As in, the woman who never left her house except to run her own company, Regina Mills? She had pictured an older woman, at least in her fifties or sixties. She had not pictured her to be young and gorgeous. Emma shook her head, cursing her lack of professionalism.

“Oh, hi.” Emma smiled lamely. Regina raised a meticulously shaped eyebrow at the blonde vet, her lips pursed together as she looked at Emma in bewilderment. Emma shook her head and looked instead at the revealed puppy to get over her embarrassment. He was alive, much to her relief. The puppy’s chocolate eyes were lethargically moving around the room as he lay down on his side. 

“He started vomiting yesterday. I didn’t think anything of it, but then…there was just so much. He’s so tiny, and he didn’t have the energy to get up or move and he just lay there.” Regina explained, stroking the puppy’s head. Emma nodded, noting it down on the chart she’d quickly grabbed for Regina. 

“Alright. How old is Henry?” Emma asked.

“They don’t know exactly, he was abandoned. I adopted him last week and they believed him to be around six weeks old.” Regina replied. Emma jotted that down. 

“Has he been vaccinated?” Emma asked. Regina shook her head.

“He was due to be vaccinated on Monday. He was too young before and they had to be sure he was over six weeks old.” Regina explained, the pitch of her voice starting to increase. Emma got out of her seat and walked towards the table where Regina was looking up at the ceiling. Emma lightly put her hand on Regina’s forearm in an attempt to comfort her, her fingers burning where their skin made contact. Regina looked back at her, her red-rimmed eyes boring into Emma’s as she frowned. 

“I think I have an idea of what’s wrong with Henry,” Emma said softly, removing her hand from Regina’s forearm and immediately missing the warmth. “But I’m just gonna check him for a fever first.” Emma explained, reaching for her thermometer. Regina nodded as Emma pulled on gloves and took the puppy’s temperature. 

_105.4˚C_

“Is it high?” Regina asked, wringing her hands. Emma chewed on her lip as she removed the thermometer, nodding.

“Yes. Very.” Emma replied, causing Regina’s eyes to widen. They didn’t get much of a chance for further conversation before Henry started making the telltale _urp urp_ noise and threw up all over Emma’s table. Regina moved to apologise, but Emma held up her hand. 

“It’s really fine.” Emma offered a small smile, but the tint of embarrassment on Regina’s cheeks only darkened. The poor puppy was whimpering, its leg twitching slightly in discomfort. Emma grabbed a small kit from the cupboard, swiping a sample and running the test.

“What is that?” Regina asked, gesturing to the kit. Emma looked up after she placed the kit down on the side. 

“It’s a form of an ELISA test. I’m seeing if Henry has what I think he has,” Emma explained, pulling her long blonde hair into a ponytail. “If you pick Henry up, I can clear this up quickly and we can try and get him comfortable.” 

Regina quickly obliged, picking up the small and trembling puppy while Emma carefully folded the plastic sheet up and over. She discarded it and wiped the table before placing a new one down. Once Henry was laid back down onto it, Emma turned on the fan by the window and the aircon, directing it at the puppy who seemed all too relieved for the cold air. 

“Take a seat, we’ve still got…another six minutes and 24 seconds before I can read off the result.” Emma explained, gesturing to one of the stools. Regina nodded, lowering herself into it and watching Emma as she leaned against the counter to neaten up Henry’s chart. 

“You’re new in town, I hear.” Regina stated softly after a few moments of watching the vet, and Emma pretending not to notice. 

“Yeah, I am. I moved here a week ago.” Emma replied, looking up and smiling at Regina.The two maintained eye contact for a moment before Regina looked away, falling into silence again as they watched the dog’s chest rise and fall with each of its laboured breaths.

“Hey, um, how come I haven’t seen you at Granny’s?” Emma asked, breaking the silence. She cringed. _Smooth, Swan_. It was the question that she had been wondering about since Dorothy had brought up this elusive Regina Mills. 

“I’ve been busy. Also, Granny’s isn’t exactly my style.” Regina replied haughtily, crossing one of her legs over the other and pushing back her damp hair.

“What, the seven dwarves not your style? Or is it Cruella De Ville and the ever decreasing number of dalmations? Maybe that’s why Pongo was late…” Emma wondered. She saw the corner of Regina’s mouth twitch upwards as she fought a smile. 

“That’s ridiculous.” Regina countered, her voice giving her amusement away at the end. 

“That’s what I said to Ruby.” Emma shrugged, putting her pen into her breast pocket. 

“Storybrooke is a-“

“Unique town. I know, everyone says it.” Emma finished for the brunette. 

“Well, it’s because it’s true. It’s a truly wonderful place.” Regina smiled. That made Emma’s heart stop for a second. If she had thought Regina was beautiful before, she was unbearably so now.

“I’m starting to see that.” Emma smiled back, taking in Regina’s bright eyes and perfect smile. 

“Miss Swan, you’re staring.” Regina said softly, almost amused. Emma immediately averted her eyes, a blush creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks. 

“Sorry.” She mumbled, busying herself with other files. Regina hummed, looking back at Henry. 

“Well, you should really come out more. Especially to Granny's, apparently she was upset she missed you the other day-” Her heart sank when she saw the quick change in Regina’s demeanour. She stopped smiling, her open and easy body language changing back to being on the defensive. 

“Excuse me?” Regina asked, frowning. Emma closed her eyes for a second. 

“I mean, if you love Storybrooke so much, why aren’t you more involved in all the stuff that goes on here? I’ve lived here a week and haven’t even caught wind of you, but I’ve seen Leroy arrested three times.” Emma explained, trying to lighten the mood. Regina didn’t reply for a second, keeping her eyes trained on her puppy. 

“Like I said, I’ve been busy. My idea of getting involved doesn’t involve a sorry excuse for a lasagne or obtaining a drunk and disorderly.” Regina explained in a way that signalled the end of the conversation. All Emma could do was nod slowly and cringe at the awkward silence that had descended. _Nice one, Emma_. She quickly noticed, however, that Regina was shivering. The other woman had sodden clothes on from the rain and Emma had put the AC and fan on full blast to try and bring Henry’s temperature down. 

“You’re freezing, do you want to borrow a blanket?” Emma asked, gesturing to the store cupboard. Regina shook her head, clenching her jaw. 

“No, I am quite alright, thank you.” Regina replied, tightening her arms around herself as goosebumps formed up her arms.

“Really, it’s no problem. I can just grab one for you fr-“ Emma started.

“Miss Swan, will you stop fussing over me and just do your job!” Regina snapped, glaring at the blonde. Emma’s mouth fell open, unsure what to say. She finally managed to close her mouth and she stiffly walked over to where she’d left the kit. Surely it must nearly ready by now. 

“Shit.” Emma sighed as she read the result from the small window on the device. It read positive. 

“I’m afraid Henry’s tested positive for Parvovirus.” Emma explained. Regina stood up, her eyebrows furrowed. “He must have picked it up at the shelter. In this case, it’s the strain of the virus that has infected his intestinal tract.” 

“So what’s the cure?” Regina asked, her hand on Henry’s head again as the puppy nuzzled into it. 

“There currently is none. What I’m going to do is take a blood test to assess Henry’s full condition and where he is lacking, put him on an IV to try and help the dehydration and give him something to try and stop him throwing up. I suggest that you keep Henry hospitalised, here, where I can keep an eye on him for the next seven to ten days.” Emma explained, noting down everything as she was saying it. 

“What if all that doesn’t work? He’s so small, he might not be able to fight it.” Regina asked, her eyes quickly filling with tears. Emma wanted to reach out for the other woman’s hand, but thought the best of it. 

“We’ll cross that if we get to it. This has proven to be the most effective course of action in cases like this.” Emma explained, trying to reassure Regina. She clearly wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“Miss Swan, what happens if this doesn’t work?” Regina repeated, slowly as if Emma was hard of hearing. Emma bit her tongue to stop herself from insulting the other woman back. 

“Again, we hopefully won’t have to come to it, but in the case of severe Parvo that is not improving ... putting him down is the kindest option.” Emma replied. Regina jumped back as if burnt, her hand on her stomach and her dark eyes boring into Emma’s as she scowled. 

“You better make sure that it doesn’t have to be an option, or I’ll find a better vet in Boston and make sure you can never practice in this state again, Miss Swan.” Regina threatened, pointing her finger at Emma. She gave one last look to Henry, her eyes softening slightly, before storming out of the room and the practice. When the front door slammed shut, Ruby popped her head around the door to see Emma stunned into place. 

“That was Regina Mills, by the way.” Ruby said. Emma wanted to laugh, but was too shocked. 

“Yeah I got that now, Rubes, thanks.” Emma replied quietly, looking back down to the beautiful puppy on her table. He was lying on his side again and watching her with his dark brown eyes so similar to his owner’s. Henry’s long coat wasn’t as shiny as Emma would like, and he didn’t seem to have the energy to support himself. 

“This is going to be a long week, isn’t it, Henry.” Emma smiled at the puppy, scratching behind his ear just as Regina had done. The puppy flinched away from her movement, making Emma retract her hand. 

“It’s okay, Henry. Don’t worry. I’m gonna take really good care of you.” Emma tried to reassure the dog. The events of the day had clearly taken its toll on Henry who, slightly cooled down from the fan and air conditioning, closed his small eyes into a fitful sleep. 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, and thank you for the reviews! I'm just in the process of moving back to uni and my new house so it's been super hectic. By the way - Henry is based off Lana's dog Lola, so go check out her insta if you want to see what Henry/Regina would look like. I hope you enjoy the update!

Regina had no idea why she had reacted that way. That was more like the Regina of the past; the hurting twenty-something year old who snapped at anyone and anything that came her way. That was, of course, until Robin came into her life. He hadn’t stood for any of her anger or viciousness and saw it for what it was - a defence mechanism of a broken woman. Somewhere along the way, though, that man who had broken down her walls and opened her up to love had changed. He had become jealous and Regina could tell they were growing apart. It all started with Regina’s election to CEO by the board and as she was at home less, he revealed that he believed as a wife she should be home and waiting for him. That marked the beginning of the disintegration of their relationship. 

Emma Swan, however, probably didn’t deserve what Regina had just said to her. She was just so worried for Henry that she lashed out. She owed the vet an apology, but that would have to wait until tomorrow. 

Regina entered the mansion, her heart heavy without the small puppy by her side. It felt so large and cavernous. 

“Robin?” She called out again, noticing with relief that there was a reply this time. Regina followed the voice to the living room where Robin was reclined, watching the TV. Robin looked up and offered a small smile. 

“Henry’s had to be hospitalised.” Regina explained, slowly sitting down on the sofa beside Robin. He sighed, reaching for the remote and pausing his TV show.

“For what?” Robin asked, turning to face her. 

“Parvo. It’s quite serious in puppies.” Regina replied, folding her arms across her chest. Robin watched her before sighing again, turning to face the TV. 

“So I guess you’re going to have to visit him then?” Robin asked. 

“There’s nothing wrong with me going into Storybrooke, Robin! In fact, the new vet even noticed how it was strange that I didn’t.” Regina exclaimed, frustrated at this continual conversation. 

“But if you have time to run a company _and_ socialise in Storybrooke, surely you have time to start a family!” Robin countered. Regina stared at him, her brain wracking for excuses. Robin was flawed, yes, but he actually wanted her and that wasn’t something she was used to. 

“I’m tired.” She sighed, hating how easily her eyes filled with tears and how her posture slumped. Robin watched her from his side of the sofa, taking in her momentary vulnerability. Silently, he reached for her and pulled her towards him. She rest her head on his chest while he quietly stroked her side, pretending not to notice how his t-shirt was becoming increasingly damp where his wife’s head was laying. 

This wasn’t the sweet, comforting hug that it could be mistaken to be from the outside. In reality, it was Regina realising that Robin liked her like this - he liked her vulnerable and less than him and relying on him. But, if she remained here, they wouldn’t have to talk about having children. And for Robin, well, it was Robin realising that his future with his wife was nowhere near as certain as he thought it to be. 

* * *

 

By the second day, Henry wasn’t showing any improvement. Emma had stayed overnight in the small on-call room she found in the back of the clinic, waking up to check on Henry every few hours and changing his IV. By the time Ruby had come in at 9am all bright eyed and bushy tailed, Emma was ready to kill her. 

“You look like shit.” Ruby said, hanging up her bag. Emma glared at the back of her head. 

“Thanks.” She deadpanned. 

“Is he not improving?” Ruby asked. Emma sighed and dropped down into Ruby’s chair.

“No, not really. His temperature has come down slightly but he’s still vomiting and has diarrhoea too often. His bloodwork is coming back before lunchtime so I’ll know what he needs.” Emma explained, more to herself than Ruby. Ruby nodded, gesturing for Emma to move out of her seat. 

Emma lethargically obliged, slowly rising and walking through into the room at the back where the A/C was on full blast and Henry was curled up in a small bed with a plastic sheet beneath him. He sort of regarded her as she entered, but mostly continued to just lay there. 

She sat down next to Henry, reaching out for him. He looked at her hand in a distrusting manner and Emma sighed, retracting it again. Like owner like dog, she supposed. 

The rest of the day passed pretty quietly as a few people brought their pets in the afternoon for small routine checks and vaccines. It wasn’t until around five when an unexpected jingle over the door told Emma that her day was about to get a bit more interesting. 

“Good afternoon, Mrs Locksley.” Emma heard Ruby say, causing Emma to shoot up in her chair. She quickly glanced in the mirror to check her hair, fixing a few bits. Why she was so concerned with her appearance was something Emma decided not to think about. There was a knock at her door and she opened it.

Regina was standing there in a slightly more casual outfit than the day before. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and make-up less severe. Emma thought that this look suited her much more and the softness to the other woman’s appearance made her breath hitch. Again, something she decided not to think about. 

“Hi.” Emma smiled, motioning for Regina to come in. Regina gave a small, tight-lipped smile of her own as she followed the vet into the consultation room. 

“How’s Henry?” Regina asked, straight to the point. Emma almost wanted to laugh at the woman’s complete lack of pleasantries. 

“Henry’s stable for the moment, at least. He’s not showing much sign of improvement, but he’s not showing signs of getting worse either.” Emma replied, leaning against the counter. Regina regarded her for a moment as her chocolate eyes scanned the vet’s face. For what, Emma didn’t know. 

“Alright. May I see him?” Regina asked. Emma nodded vigorously. 

“Of course! He’s in the back.” Emma replied. She opened the door to the small room in the back and Regina followed her in. Henry was still curled up on his bed, but his ears pricked up at the sound of Regina’s voice. 

Regina crouched down, running her manicured hand over the puppy’s head and giving him a small scratch behind the ears. Emma didn’t mean to look, but she couldn’t help but see the soft smile on Regina’s face that seemed so foreign. 

“You two have a real special connection.” Emma commented from where she was standing by the doorway. Regina turned her head around, her soft smile quickly falling. 

“Yes. That’s why I chose him.” Regina explained coldly. She gave Henry another quick scratch before standing up from her kneeled position and brushed down her slacks. 

“I read up on Henry’s condition last night, and I believe his needs would be better suited to a larger hospital.” Regina announced. Emma frowned, the complete disregard for her expertise and knowledge brushing her the wrong way. 

“Well, you are Henry’s owner but I believe he is too sick to be moved right now.” Emma countered, glancing to the puppy. Regina shook her head. 

“The top vet in Boston doesn’t think so, Miss Swan. I think I’ll take his word over yours.” Regina replied, settling a glare onto the blonde. Emma’s mouth fell open. 

“Right, this _top vet_ hasn’t actually seen Henry though, has he? Believe me when I tell you that your puppy is in a critical stage of his recovery and a two and a bit hour drive to Boston, - where he got the disease - is a really bad idea.” Emma explained, her words coming out more forcefully than Emma had intended. Regina’s eyes darkened at the promise of confrontation and a vein in her forehead protruded as she stalked forwards to get into the vet’s personal space. 

“Henry is _mine_ , and I will decide what’s best for him.” She spat, her eyes flitting between Emma’s. 

“Frankly I don’t think you know shit about what’s best for him.” Emma retorted, one eyebrow raising smugly. This just served to fuel Regina’s anger further. 

“How dare you! I will not be dictated to by some small-town vet.” Regina yelled and Emma realised just how close the two were in their confrontation. She felt Regina’s hot breath on her skin and it made her feel alive in ways Emma didn’t even realise she hadn’t been. 

“And I will not be dictated to by some small-town snob. I graduated top of my class and have been practicing all over the country, so don’t you dare insinuate that I am any less of a vet just because I haven’t lined my pockets. I can’t stop you, but if you take this dog right now I guarantee you he will die before you reach Boston.” Emma snarled, not backing down from Regina’s continued eye contact. Was the other woman…smiling? Emma couldn’t understand the slight upturn of Regina’s lips, or the excitement in her eyes. 

With a huff, Regina turned around and briskly left the practice. Emma was left with her chest heaving and her body a cocktail of emotions that didn’t belong together. That woman was so infuriating, yet Emma couldn’t help but love it. 

* * *

 

Really, Emma should have known that Regina would visit Henry frequently. It didn’t stop her heart from quickening when she heard an unexpected jingle over the door, or her chest constricting when she saw whatever Regina was wearing that day. 

The third day of Henry’s hospitalisation, Regina came to visit during Emma’s lunch break. Her look was much less relaxed than the previous day as she wore a fitted blue dress that accentuated her curves and was perfectly contrasted with an expertly painted red lip. Emma’s throat had gone dry as she tried to update the other woman on Henry’s progress. 

“Come to take Henry to Boston?” Emma asked, pretending to not have been checking Regina out since she had walked into the clinic. Regina stopped in front of her desk and folded her arms. 

“I decided it was in Henry’s best interest to not be moved at this delicate stage.” Emma finally looked up, smiling smugly. “…however, once he begins to improve I will be relocating him to a better facility.” 

Emma rolled her eyes and stood up to open the door to where Henry was resting. Regina seemed almost disappointed at the lack of response from Emma as she walked in to the side room. Emma remained where she was, deciding to leave Regina to it. She could hear the other woman chatting very quietly to Henry, her voice much softer and higher pitched. It was actually endearing. Emma knew there was another side to the enigmatic woman and she was sure she was only seeing a glimpse of it now.

After ten minutes or so, Regina came back out of the room and declared that Henry had fallen asleep. Emma nodded, returning to her work. She stopped after a second, noticing that Regina was still standing there. 

“Anything else, Regina?” Emma sighed, rousing the woman out of her thoughts. Regina frowned and gestured to a small duffel bag on the windowsill which was overspilling with pyjamas, toiletries and had a folded blanket and pillow resting next to it. 

“It’s my overnight stuff?” Emma explained. Her voice rose as if it was a question, unsure why Regina was so concerned about it. 

“You stay here overnight?” Regina asked, her tone much softer as she tilted her head. Henry did the same thing, Emma noted. 

“Of course. Who else would look after Henry?” Emma scoffed. Regina’s eyes widened as she took in Emma’s appearance a bit more thoroughly. The vet looked as beautiful as usual, but she now couldn’t miss the slightly disheveled hair pulled back into a ponytail and the whispers of bags under her eyes. Hot guilt flooded through her stomach and chest as she realised that while she had been accusing her of being unqualified and not looking after Henry enough, the woman had spent every hour of the last three days sleeping in her office. 

Regina cleared her throat. 

“Right. I didn’t think…” She trailed off, bringing her arms around herself. 

“It sure beats staying at Granny’s. The other day, I had to listen to dwarf sex.” Emma joked, shuddering at the memory. Regina's eyebrows shot up as the corners of her mouth twitched. 

“Oh really?” Regina asked, trying to hide her mirth. 

“Oh yeah. Traumatising, let me tell ya. He couldn’t reach the bed apparently.” Emma snorted as she told the story. Regina brought her hand to her cover her mouth as she snickered, averting her eyes from Emma’s piercing green ones. 

“Will you be staying here until Henry recovers?” Regina asked once she had schooled her expression. Emma nodded, leaning back into her chair. “Oh, well, thank you.” 

Regina mumbled the last bit. 

“Sorry, I missed that. What did you say?” Emma asked, leaning forward and smirking. Regina blushed and rolled her eyes. 

“You heard me.” Regina deadpanned, reaching for the door handle.

“Oh, but I didn’t!” Emma protested, feigning desperation as she put her hand to her chest. Regina rolled her eyes again, a small smile on her lips. 

“I said, _thank you_.” Regina repeated. Emma smiled, taking in Regina’s expression and sincereness much more than she expected to. The brunette seemed softer with her doe eyes andhalf smile. Emma’s breath hitched as the eye contact continued. Regina broke it, a dusting of a blush on her cheeks.

“Don’t get too used to it, Miss Swan.” Regina cleared her throat, tucking her mid-length hair behind her ear.

“See you tomorrow, Regina.” Emma laughed, looking back down to the forms she had been filling out. Regina shook her head, glancing back at the vet before leaving the practice.

* * *

 

“Oh my gosh, Henry!” Emma grinned, crouching by the dog who lifted himself up. On shaky and weak legs, the puppy pushed off the ground and looked up to Emma. He took a small step forward, his front leg buckling as he hit the floor.

“Don’t worry, little one.” She smiled, reaching out for him. She kept her hand hovering over his head to test his reaction, not wanting to push him too far too soon. His deep brown eyes looked at her for a second before he tilted his head up and pushed into her hand. Emma gave him a scratch behind the ears and petted him for a few minutes. 

“He looks so good!” Ruby laughed from the doorway, leaning against it as she drank her morning coffee. She then looked to Emma. “You, on the other hand…”

“Fuck off, Ruby.” Emma groaned, lying down on the floor. She hadn’t gone home in four days now and although she had been able to clean herself a bit, she didn’t feel very fresh. 

“Why don’t you go home tonight? I’ll keep an eye on Henry.” Ruby suggested, sitting down next to where the vet was sprawled out on the floor. Emma considered it for a second. 

“I’d be too worried to sleep. Thank you, though.” Emma smiled at her friend who nodded.

“Well why don’t you show me what you want to do with Henry today and I’ll do it, and you go shower properly. You stink.”

“Do not!”  
“Do too. Em, really. Take a break. You deserve it. And you know I’m applying for vet school eventually so think of it as work experience.” Ruby countered. Emma sighed, closing her eyes. 

“Okay, sure. Thanks Rubes.” Emma smiled, taking Ruby's hand and squeezing it. 

She showed Ruby how to change Henry’s IV, grabbed her stuff and then drove to her and Ruby’s apartment. The shower was almost heavenly as she washed her hair under the warm water and started to feel clean for the first time in days. Once she was done, she changed into a fresh pair of scrubs and made her way to Granny's diner. Emma hadn’t stepped foot into it since the Thursday night before, and it was now Monday. 

“Hey Granny!” Emma smiled, sitting at the stool and clasping her hands together. Granny looked up from her book and gave Emma a warm smile. 

“I’ve heard you’ve been holed up all weekend looking after Regina’s pup. Let me get you a coffee on the house.” Granny offered.

“Thank you, that would be amazing.” Emma replied, leaning her head onto her arms as she watched the old woman move behind the counter and make her drink. 

“How is Regina? I looked after her a lot when she was younger and I was very fond of her. She doesn’t come around a lot anymore and with her mother… is she okay? Is she happy?” Granny asked, twirling her glasses strap. Emma was momentarily taken aback by Granny’s concern for the woman who’d been almost solidly rude to her for the past four days, but Emma already knew that that wasn’t who Regina truly was. She’d seen how she’d acted with Henry. 

“Sorry, I haven’t really been able to speak to her much. I… what do you mean by her mother?” Emma asked, taking a sip of her coffee. Granny sighed and leaned forward on the counter next to Emma. 

“Regina’s mother is a…driven woman. Much like Regina, actually, except Cora has no heart. To be given a girl as beautiful in soul as Regina was and try and turn her into something else is unforgivable. Cora very much controlled Regina’s life and I daresay she still does. I just hope that Regina has a good support system in place to help her, especially since her father died a few years back.” 

As Granny told Emma the things she thought she maybe ought not to know, she couldn’t help but feel sadness for the woman who visited her every day. From the moment Emma had laid eyes on her she could tell that Regina was incredibly emotion-driven, especially in the way she had yelled at Ruby while soaking wet and clutching onto an animal she’d owned for only a few days. It put Regina’s behaviour into perspective and only served to make Emma even more curious about her. 

“That’s awful.” Emma replied, looking into her coffee cup that she’d quickly drained. 

“It is. Anyway, I won’t take up more of your time. Make sure you take a break though, Emma.” Granny instructed, resting her hand on Emma’s forearm. Emma nodded, her heart swelling at the concern. 

She grabbed Ruby’s favourite drink off Dorothy before she left, and then made her way back to the practice. She found Ruby lying on the floor next to Henry’s bed, trying to get him to put his paw up to her hand.

“Ruby, what on earth are you doing?” Emma laughed, handing the receptionist her drink. Ruby sat up, blushing. 

“I was teaching Henry how to do a high-five.” Ruby replied. 

“Oh, you think they teach that in veterinary school?” Emma retorted.

“They should.” Ruby shrugged, taking a big gulp of her drink. Emma smiled, crouching in front of Henry who was back off the floor again. 

“Did you get very far?” Emma asked, mimicking Henry as he tilted his head at her. Ruby shook her head. “Should we give it a go, Henry?” 

Emma held up her hand close to the puppy, wiggling her fingers to catch his attention. Henry seemed confused for a minute before he slowly brought one paw up, blindly waving it in her direction. 

“You’re nearly there! C’mon, Hen.” Emma giggled, moving her hand further down. Eventually, Henry reached up and pressed his paw into Emma’s hand. Ruby squealed while Emma grinned, wrapping her fingers around his furry paw before guiding it back to the ground. She gave him a little scratch on his head. 

“You smell better by the way.” 

“Fuck off, Ruby.” 

* * *

 

Emma found herself constantly looking at the clock. It was now 5pm, and there had been no sighting of Regina. Not that she was actively waiting for her or anything like that. 

Ever since her conversation with Granny, Emma was looking forward to seeing her again with her newfound perspective. She was sure there was another side to Regina, one that was well worth putting up with the front that she put on. Her mind started to wander as she thought of the enigmatic brunette, wondering if she’d turn up all sophisticated from the office with immaculate make-up and a power suit. Or, if she’d appear in a more dressed down fashion with softer features and that same half-smile that had almost killed Emma the day before. 

“Jesus, Emma.” Emma scolded herself, pinching the bridge of her nose to clear her thoughts. 

“Em?” Emma heard Ruby call from the waiting room.

“Yeah?” She called back. 

“I’m heading home now! See ya tomorrow.” Ruby replied, stepping into the consultation room. 

“Oh, is tonight your date with Dorothy?” Emma grinned, leaning back into her chair as she threw one of her stress balls between her hands. Ruby nodded. 

“Yeah. We’re going a town over for a movie and dinner.” Ruby explained as she rocked back and forth on her feet. 

“Well, have an amazing time.” Emma smiled. Ruby smiled back and turned to leave. “Wait, you haven’t heard from Regina have you?” 

“No, sorry. I’m sure she’ll come visit you tomorrow though.” Ruby replied with a small twinkle in her eye. 

“Visit _me_? She comes for Henry.” Emma corrected, yelling through the door as Ruby was leaving. 

“Sure!” Ruby yelled back, before stepping out of the practice and shutting the door. Emma huffed, throwing the ball between her hands again. Regina obviously did not come to visit her. But _where was she_ and why hadn’t she come to visit? 

Emma shook her head and busied herself with some tasks before checking in on Henry who was fast asleep in his bed. At least he was doing much better than Emma expected for this stage of his recovery. Almost too well. 

Emma’s thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. She frowned, padding into the waiting area where Ruby’s receptionist phone was ringing. If it was an emergency on any of the farms, they had her number so they wouldn’t be ringing this one. She leant over the desk and took the phone out of the receiver. 

“Hi, Storybrooke Vet Hospital?” Emma greeted, unsure. 

“ _Miss Swan?”_

Emma jumped as she realised it was Regina on the other end. The other woman’s voice sounded breathy and relieved and it did things to Emma she didn’t want to think about. 

“Oh, R-Regina! Hi!” Emma stuttered, sitting down in Ruby’s chair. She cringed at herself. 

_“Hi. Sorry I couldn’t visit today. I got caught up in something at work.”_

_“_ Oh, don’t apologise, it’s fine.” Emma replied. 

“… _I’m aware. How’s Henry today?”_

Emma cringed at herself again. She was never usually this awkward and she hated that she was around Regina. 

“Good, actually! Oh, we taught him to do a high-five today!” Emma smiled at the memory. It was quiet on the other end for a second before an amused voice replied.

“ _A high five?”_

“Yep. Henry’s pretty good at them. He’s started to stand up a bit now which is a good sign. He’s a bit too weak to be walking around or anything but I hope we can get him back on solid foods by Wednesday or Thursday.” Emma explained as she kicked her feet up onto Ruby’s desk.

_“That’s great.”_ Emma could hear the other woman smiling at the other end of the phone. “ _Maybe when I visit tomorrow you’ll be able to show me how to get him to do these…high fives?”_

“I’d love to.” Emma replied softly. 

“ _Okay. I’ll let you go then. Thank you for updating me.”_

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to get used to you thanking me?” Emma teased. 

_“Don’t push it, Miss Swan.”_

_“_ Alright, Regina.” Emma laughed, and she swore she had heard something like a muffled laugh on the other end. 

“ _Make sure you get some sleep in that office of yours.”_ Emma’s heart stopped in her chest. Was there maybe some truth to what Ruby had said earlier? 

“Worried about my sleeping habits now?” Emma asked lightly, chewing on her thumbnail. She heard a scoff. 

“ _I’m worried you’ll be sleep deprived and accidentally give Henry a flu shot instead of his medication. Don’t flatter yourself, dear.”_ Emma kicked herself. Of course Regina wasn’t actually worried about her, and she really was only visiting for Henry. Maybe she was sleep deprived. 

“Duly noted. I’ll head to bed soon.” Emma replied. 

“ _Good.”_

“See you tomorrow, then.” 

_“Sweet dreams.”_

Before Emma could respond, the phone clicked as Regina hung up. _Sweet dreams?_ Emma ran a hand down her face and decided that she just must be very tired and her perceptions were being affected. She held the phone tight in her fist as she closed her eyes, embarrassed, and thinking over the phone call. 

Emma knew it was only around 5:30 in early August, but the back room was dark and cool and honestly, she could do with the sleep. With one final check on Henry, she set herself up for the night and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

 

Refreshed and showered, Emma’s mood was much better than it had been for the past few days. Ruby had told her so first thing, earning a stress ball being thrown at her head. The pair chatted about Ruby’s date while preparing the practice before Emma had to see to her first few customers of the day. 

It was a warm August day - not too hot, but warm and sunny enough to put everyone in a good mood. Her first few appointments were run-of-the mill check-ups. After seeing Henry’s hydration levels, she decided to take him off the IV which relieved the small animal. By 11am, Emma was sitting at her desk and filling out some paperwork.

Wrapped up in her thoughts as she signed off on a chart, she almost missed the small knock against her leg. 

“HENRY!” Emma yelled, her heart almost leaping out of her chest as she saw the beautiful puppy nudging her leg under her desk with his head. 

“What? What’s wrong?” Ruby rushed into the room. She stopped when she saw Emma’s grin. Emma beckoned her over, gesturing for her to be quiet. Ruby tried, but as she was in a pair of high-heeled sandals on linoleum floor, it wasn’t going too well. When she saw what Emma had been gesturing too, she met the vet’s grin with her own. 

Henry had finished nudging Emma’s leg and was now lying on his back, exposing his stomach and playing with the hem of Emma’s scrubs. 

“He just…walked in here?” Ruby asked, sitting down on the chair on the other side of Emma’s desk. 

“Yes! I usually keep the door open so he doesn’t feel lonely.” Emma explained, moving her chair out so she could get down to Henry’s level. He seemed a bit stunned at first at the movement, but he nuzzled into her hand when she held it out. 

“He’s really bonded with you.” Ruby observed, watching the two interact. “Like dog, like owner.”

Emma banged her head on the desk as she sat up to glare at Ruby. 

“Regina and I have not _bonded_.” Emma growled, rubbing at her head. Ruby smirked. 

“Not yet.” 

“Whatever, Ruby. Can you get Regina on the phone?”

“Seriously?”

“I’m your boss, remember?” 

Ruby rolled her eyes, stood up and walked into the waiting room to her desk. Emma continued to play with the puppy for a few minutes until -

“Emma, your girlfriend’s on the line.” Ruby called from the reception desk. 

“I’m actually gone to kill you. Like, first degree murder.” Emma yelled back before reaching for her phone and accepting the call. 

_“Emma? Is Henry okay? What’s wrong?”_ Regina’s voice was high pitched, like the day that she had come into Emma’s practice. 

“No, nothing’s wrong. Don’t worry! It’s good news, actually.” Emma explained, quick to assuage Regina’s panic. She heard Regina breathe a sigh of relief.

“ _Oh, thank goodness. Well?”_

“I took him off his drip earlier today and when I was working he walked in! He’s playing around on the floor now.” Emma explained, and for a brief moment realised that Regina might think that it was strange for Emma to ring her for this. The silence on the other end of the phone didn’t help, and Emma realised that she might have overstepped on this one. 

“Sorry if this isweird, I was just excited to-“

“ _No, no, not at all! Sorry, my other phone was ringing. I’m working from home today. Would I be able to come around and visit now?”_

_“_ Of course. I’ll be here.” Emma replied. Regina bid her goodbye and Emma quickly hopped up to check her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was much shinier and less tangled since her shower yesterday and the bags under her eyes were beginning to disappear. Satisfied with her appearance, she tidied up the consultation room a bit. She looked over to her desk where a photo of herself, Mary Margaret, David, Ruby, Dorothy and Granny were all grinning into the camera in Granny’s diner, the seven dwarves in the back downing pints. It was the epitome of Emma’s experience in Storybrooke and she loved the photo so much that she knew that it had to be framed and put on her desk. 

For the millionth time over the past few weeks, Emma took a moment to truly appreciate her luck. 

“Regina’s dropping by in a minute, but you can go take your lunch break.” Emma said, ignoring Ruby’s suggestive look. The receptionist gathered her things and left the practice, undoubtedly heading for Granny’s to have lunch with her girlfriend. 

Emma hummed to herself as she went into check on Henry, hoping to run him through the high five again before Regina got there. 

Looking into his room, Emma’s blood ran completely cold when she saw him lying down on his side, a pool of vomit next to him. _Fuck_ , he’d just been walking around and playing with her and _shit_ Regina was going to arrive any minute and - and - 

Henry let out a small whimper, jolting Emma out of her panic. She cleaned up the vomit and checked Henry’s temperature. It had significantly risen since she had checked it that morning. _Shit._

_“_ Miss Swan? What is this?” _Shit._

Emma turned around to see Regina stood in the doorway, her hands balled into fists and her steely expression fixed on Emma. 

“Regina, he literally just-“ 

“Were you lying?” Regina asked, her voice deep and seething with rage. Emma stood up, shaking her head emphatically. 

“No, no. God, no. He literally was just walking around. I don’t…I don’t-“ Emma tried to explain, running her hand down her face. Regina stalked forward, her manicured finger pointing at Emma. 

“Well you’d better figure it out.” Regina hissed. Emma would usually be furious at being spoken to that way, but Regina’s true emotions were given away by her red-rimmed eyes that were quickly swimming with tears. She turned away, careful not to let herself cry in front of Emma. 

“Maybe if you’d spent less time teaching him how to do _high-fives_ and spent more time actually caring for him, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Regina bit, turning around again. Emma closed her eyes at the insult and tried to control her anger. 

“That isn’t fair.” Emma replied, her hands on her hips. This only served to fuel Regina’s anger. 

“You know what isn’t _fair_ , Miss Swan? I adopt Henry and within a few days of having him, he falls sick and I have to give him to you and my husband doesn’t even care, and just as I begin to believe that Henry’s getting better, that Henry’s going to make it, the universe decides to - to-“ Regina’s voice hitches and she clamped her mouth shut as tears started to leak out of her eyes. Emma’s heart ached for the woman in front of her. Regina was looking anywhere but at Emma, seemingly embarrassed by her emotions. 

_I just hope that Regina has a good support system in place._

Granny’s words rang through Emma’s head as she watched the brunette try to pull herself together. Regina had her arms wrapped around her stomach protectively, and instantly Emma knew that she didn’t have that system. 

“Regina…” Emma took a step towards her, her eyes wide and soft. Regina looked up, her hard expression slipping away to give a heartbroken one. She could tell that Regina was trying to control her features, but it just wasn’t working. 

Before Emma knew what she was doing, she had wrapped her arms around the other woman and pulled her towards her. Regina stiffened, her arms down by her side. 

“What are you-“ Regina’s voice cracked again, only causing Emma to tighten her hold on her. Emma felt tears starting to form in her own eyes when Regina’s emotions finally broke through and she let out a sob, her entire body relaxing into Emma’s embrace. 

Emma rubbed small circles on Regina’s back. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt two small hands placed gently, so carefully, on her own back. Emma suddenly realised how small Regina was, her head tucked under Emma’s chin and waist tiny under Emma’s hands. 

Regina eventually stopped crying as she shook less, her sobs giving way to small sniffles. Regretfully, Emma released her hold on Regina to reach for her box of tissues on the desk and handed them to her. 

Regina gave Emma a small smile before taking a few tissues out of the box and dabbing her eyes with them. 

“Sorry.” Regina mumbled, shaking her hair out of her face. Emma frowned. 

“Don’t apologise.” Emma insisted. Now she knew what Regina felt like under her hands, how her body felt melded to hers like they were two pieces of fate’s jigsaw puzzle always destined to meet…and yet she was _married_. Emma cleared her throat, looking at the ground. She chanced a glance back at Regina who was looking at her with an unreadable expression. Her dark hair had fallen out of place and was framing her face. She seemed so beautiful in that moment and Emma knew she was completely screwed. 

“I promise that I was, am and will do everything I possibly can for Henry.” Emma implored, resisting the urge to reach out for Regina’s hand. Regina slowly nodded, her gaze still centred on Emma’s. 

“Alright.” Regina replied quietly, looking down to the puppy. With one final nod in Emma’s direction, she shakily picked up her handbag and left the practice. Emma deflated immediately, running a hand through her long hair. 

_Fuck._


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry about the delay, everything was just hectic with moving back to uni and starting everything again. Hope you enjoy the update!

Emma had never considered herself a particularly lucky person. However, when Henry had opened his eyes the next morning, and the one after that, and the one after that, she thanked whoever was looking down on her. 

Henry’s turn for the worse had been just that - a turn. It meant, nonetheless, that Emma had to spend another week in the practice, but she’d become so accustomed to it that she no longer minded. 

Once he was back up on his feet again, Ruby and Emma took turns in looking after him during the day which gave Emma small windows to go shower, speak to people who weren’t Ruby or Regina and have some time to herself. With all the time, Ruby not only perfected his high-fives but also taught him a couple other tricks.

Surprising both of them, Henry turned out to be a puppy that was full of playfulness and love. He recognised them both instantly, bounding up to them whenever they entered his room and he’d jump up onto their legs. 

What surprised Emma the most, however, was Henry’s reaction to Regina. It would be understandable for Henry to be less trusting or playful around Regina since technically they had spent more time around the puppy than Regina had. However, that’s not what happened. Whenever Regina would come to visit, Henry’s little ears would prick up and he’d immediately sit up straight, waiting for her to come into the room. Once she did, he’d run over to her beforestopping, sitting down in front of her, and then proceed to rub his sides on her ankles and lower legs in a similar way to a cat. He would refrain from jumping up onto her and instead lay along her feet and play with the hem of her slacks. It was far less attention-seeking, and more loving than his interactions with Emma and Ruby. This did mean that often, however, Regina was bound to the spot once she’d entered the room. 

She’d smile down at her puppy - who seemed to be growing by the day - give him a little belly rub and scratch behind the ears before turning her attention to Emma. They would have to speak like this, with Regina stuck to one spot in the room while Emma would sit in her desk chair or be tidying up the practice around her. 

For the first few days at least, the conversations between the two women was stilted with the memory of Henry’s relapse. It seemed that while Emma felt inexplicably guilty and overwhelmed by Regina’s presence, Regina remembered the event through a more embarrassed standpoint - embarrassed that she’d been so weak in front of the woman. 

It didn’t take long for this to pass. By Henry’s ninth day, Regina no longer felt a hot stab of embarrassment whenever she saw the vet and the two were able to have normal conversations again - whatever that was for them. 

* * *

 

_Cladding : [inspected]. Type : monoethyne_

Regina read the section of the report again, her eyebrows drawn together as she tried to make sense of it.

She sighed and leaned back into her chair, removing her glasses. Upon opening her eyes, she reached for her intercom. 

“Zelena, could you get Mr. Gold on the phone for me?” Regina asked her assistant. “ _You got it!”_ She heard after a beat.

With their merger moving ever closer, Regina had received the files on all of _Gold & Co._’s projects over the last ten years. Mr. Gold’s company had become incredibly rich during the Mayor of Boston’s push for more affordable housing a few years back. There was something that just didn’t sit right with her about it - a man who built hotels in Dubai, airports in Morocco and malls in Singapore was not the type of man to undertake a social justice project on his own doorstep. Especially not a man like Mr. Gold. 

Regina was brought out of her thoughts by Zelena sticking her head around the door. 

“Mr. Gold’s actually just arrived. Should I bring him up?” She asked. Regina noticed that Zelena’s usual bubbly attitude was dimmed, no doubt by the presence of that imp. She nodded. 

“Thank you. Don’t let him buy your soul on the way up.” Regina quipped. 

“He wouldn’t have a container big enough.” Zelena snorted. Regina smiled before her ginger assistant left the room. There was no one that Regina knew who could have such a big and unpleasant effect on people just through proxy as Mr. Gold, and she was dreading having to look at his speckled and lying face. 

“Miss. Mills.” She heard him breathe as he limped into the room, resting his body weight on his walking stick as he looked at her through expecting, almost yellow eyes. She did not stand up for him - she remained rooted in her seat while giving him her fake business-smile. 

“Mr. Gold. Please, have a seat. I wouldn’t want you to be standing too long.” Regina smiled, sickly sweet. He clenched his jaw, no doubt annoyed at her quip and the fact that she didn’t rise when he entered the room. She took the small victories wherever she could get them. 

“How kind of you.” He deadpanned, leaning back into one of her chairs opposite her desk. When Regina had been furnishing her office, one thing she ensured was that the other chairs in her office were all smaller than hers. Being able to, in this moment, glare down at this particular visitor made all that effort worth it. He was on her turf, and her mother was no longer around to interfere in their exchange. 

“Before you get into whatever you came to visit me for, I have a question for you.” Regina started, pulling out one of the hundreds of files that been delivered to her overworked associates downstairs. His smile instantly faltered, straining to see the label of the file she had procured. She was careful to keep it hidden - to catch the truth, she needed his true reaction. 

“Alright.” He frowned, crossing one leg over the other. Regina slipped her glasses onto her nose and opened the file to the page she had been looking at earlier. 

“I was looking at your file on 3459 Ferguson Street, right here in Boston.” She heard a sharp intake of breath. “Are you familiar with the project?”

To the untrained eye, it would seem that Mr. Gold was just looking at her with indifference or confusion. Regina, however, knew that expression to be warning her to not go any further or she would regret it - it was one her mother wore quite often. 

“…Yes. It was completed years ago. What is your particular interest in it?” Mr. Gold asked, his voice clipped. Regina knew she had him. 

“Nothing at the beginning. But then…I looked at the building inspector’s report. I remember it being quite an issue with the building inspectors back then - with the city looking to push lots of housing projects in a short amount of time, inspectors were easily… _swayed_ to look the other way at certain things.” Regina explained, gesturing to the report. Mr. Gold’s face darkened. 

“Miss. Mills, I strongly suggest that you don’t insinuate-.” He started. 

“Oh, but I’m not insinuating anything, Mr. Gold. I was just taking a look at the section of the report on the cladding. Oddly, it says here that the cladding is made out of _monoethyne._ Do you know what that is?” She asked, faux innocently. 

He shook his head, his eyes darker and hard. 

“That’s not my job.” He snarled, his golden teeth visible through his cracked lips. 

“No, true. Except I took organic chemistry up to my third year in college, and I know that monoethyne is certainly not a building material, if it exists at all. So there are two things going on here. One, your inspectors were _very_ careless with the research and accidentally implied that the cladding is made out of ethyne - a gas, by the way - or two, your inspectors were bribed to try and rename the cheap aluminium polyethylene cladding which is banned in the US due to its lack of fire safety. A job they did very poorly, I must add.” Regina explained cooly. Mr. Gold looked at her for a moment before clearing his throat and straightening his suit. 

“That is most unfortunate. How careless of them.” He replied, reaching for the file. Regina snapped it back, well out of his reach.

“Very unfortunate. Do you know what else is unfortunate? How all 576 people living in this building are at a much greater risk of fire due to the cladding. You took on this project, Mr. Gold, to help out struggling families and young adults in Boston but all you will end up doing is being responsible for their deaths just to save a bit of money on the insulation. Look at what happened in London last year.” She accused. They sat in silence for a moment, glowering at each other until Regina spoke up again. 

“So, which of those two situations was correct?” She asked, raising one eyebrow. 

“One.” Mr. Gold said through gritted teeth. Regina nodded. 

“I thought so. In which case, I will send down a new load of inspectors to discover what the cladding is actually made of to ensure the report is up to date.” She said, making a note of it in her planner. Once done, she looked back up to Mr. Gold, who was looking considerably uncomfortable, and leaned forward while crossing her arms on her desk.

“I hope you understand that upon our companies’ merger, I will be keeping a very close eye on these sorts of things. Ethical corners won’t be cut in the name of money.” 

“An issue…very close to my heart.” Mr. Gold smiled, leaning forward and placing his hand on his chest. His fingernails were uneven and stained by tobacco. 

“I’m sure.” Regina offered her business smile again, masking her rising nausea at the man.

“Well, thank you for your time, Miss. Mills.” Mr. Gold said, slowly rising out of the chair. She frowned. 

“Wasn’t there something you needed?” She asked, closing her file. He smirked, reaching for his cane. 

“Oh, no, I got quite what I needed.” He replied surreptitiously, giving her a small salute before leaving the office. Regina watched him leave, swimming with unease. _What had he meant by that?_ She waited for a few minutes before watching him leave the building from fifty floors below her, hobbling into a large, blacked-out SUV. 

Once he had left, she slowly rose out of her own seat and walked out of the glass office to Zelena’s desk right outside. 

“That man is such a creepy bastard.” Zelena shivered, earning a nod of agreement from Regina. 

“He really is.” Regina sighed, rubbing her forehead. “His company has been cutting corners when it comes to health and safety and I think I’ve barely even scratched the surface with the cladding on Ferguson Street. Could you get an associate to read through all the ‘community’ projects for Boston and flag up anything strange?” 

“Jesus.” Zelena growled, beginning to type up an email to the head of legal. “That’s disgusting.” 

“Thanks.” Regina put her hand on Zelena’s elbow before turning towards her office. “…You wouldn’t happen to have the number for Storybrooke Vet Hospital, would you?” 

Zelena looked up from her computer and shook her head. “No, but I can get it for you.” 

“Great. A woman called Ruby should pick up. Or…” Regina checked her watch, chewing on her lip. “Miss Swan.” 

Zelena watched her curiously for a second before nodding, pulling out her phone to search up the number. Regina returned to her desk, beginning to type up an email to Boston’s Inspectional Services Department. The whole situation had her riled up. Mr. Gold’s blatant disregard for human safety, especially when it came to vulnerable communities that were primarily non-white, sickened her and the merger became increasingly bleak. Of course the five-star hotels in Dubai were all up to standard, though probably built by slave labour, but once it came to poor people…

Her phone made a beep, alerting her to the presence on the other end of the phone. She reached over and took the phone out of the receiver. 

_“Hi, Storybrooke Vet Hospital?”_ Regina heard a high-pitched, curious voice that definitely did not belong to Ruby. 

“Miss Swan?” She breathed, relieved for some reason that it was Emma and not her sarcastic receptionist. 

“ _Oh, R-Regina! Hi!”_

Why did Emma sound so surprised for her to be on the other end of the phone? And…relieved? 

“…Hi. Sorry I couldn’t visit today. I got caught up in something at work.” Regina explained, though she was unsure why she was excusing herself as if she owed her presence to Miss Swan. She found herself doing and saying things around this infuriating woman that she often couldn’t explain to herself.

“ _Oh, don’t apologise, it’s fine.”_

_“…_ I’m aware.” Really, Regina had brought that upon herself and she knew it. “How’s Henry today?”

She missed her beautiful puppy so much and it really killed her that she had had to hand him over to Miss Swan, even if it was in his best interest. For the few days he had spent in her office, he had been so well behaved and changed the whole atmosphere of the place. 

“ _Good, actually. Oh, we taught him to do a high-five today!”_

Regina was taken aback by the vet’s laughter on the other end of the phone and its effect on her. Her heart race picked up and her stomach bottomed out, causing her breath to catch in her throat which was something she couldn’t even begin to understand. _A high five?_ She imagined Miss Swan putting her hand up to be met by Henry’s tiny paw, the situation suddenly striking her as very amusing. 

“A high five?” She repeated, smiling. 

“ _Yep. Hen’s pretty good at them. He’s started to stand up a bit now which is a good sign. He’s a bit too weak to be walking around or anything but I hope we can get him back on solid foods by Wednesday or Thursday.”_

Regina’s smile became wider, as if she were a proud parent discussing her child.

“That’s great,” Her heart rate quickened as she spoke again. “Maybe when I visit tomorrow you’ll be able to show me how to get him to do these…high fives?” 

Why had she just asked that? Regina put her hand on her forehead, pressing her thumb into her temple in embarrassment. 

“ _I’d love to.”_ Came Emma’s soft reply. It lessened the embarrassment slightly, and Regina dropped her arm back onto her lap. 

“Okay. I’ll let you go then. Thank you for updating me.” Regina was reaching to hang up the call when she heard Miss Swan’s teasing voice. 

“ _I thought I wasn’t supposed to get used to you thanking me?”_

_“_ Don’t push it, Miss Swan.” Regina warned, laughing before she could get a control on herself. A blush rose up her cheeks, made worse by Emma’s reply -

“ _Alright, Regina.”_

From nowhere, Regina was overtaken by a strange fondness for the blonde. Maybe it had something to do with her being far more appealing than Mr. Gold or the board she had spent all day meeting with. Either way, she had a strange desire to be at the practice in this moment than in her office. 

“Make sure you get some sleep in that office of yours.” 

It went quiet on the other end, before Emma replied in a much quieter voice. 

“ _Worried about my sleeping habits now?”_

This was a new territory for them - a new boundary. A boundary that Regina was far too tired and confused to cross. So, she fell back onto her usual biting humour that prevented people from getting too close if they didn’t know how to navigate it. 

“I’m worried you’ll be sleep deprived and accidentally give Henry a flu shot instead of his medication. Don’t flatter yourself, dear.” Done. Regina smiled to herself, satisfied. 

“ _Duly noted. I’ll head to bed soon.”_ Emma almost sounded disappointed.

“Good.” Regina replied, before her tired brain got her into more trouble. 

“ _I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”_

Inexplicably, her heart started beating fast again and Regina wanted nothing more than to be off this phone call before she could embarrass herself further. 

“Sweet dreams.” She muttered, pressing the button and ending the call. Her eyes went wide when she realised what she’d said. _Sweet dreams._ She held the phone to her face and looked down at the desk as she screwed her eyes shut in embarrassment. Why Miss Swan brought this side out of her, she had no idea. 

Eventually, Regina lifted her head again and put the phone back into its receiver. Looking around the office, her eyes caught onto the bright blue ones of her assistant. Zelena was wearing the same curious expression as earlier, except now she was grinning suggestively. 

_What?_ Regina mouthed to her through the glass. Zelena smirked again, shrugging. 

_Nothing, s_ he mouthed back. Shaking her head, Regina started to pack up her belongings. 

“Good night, Zelena.” Regina said carefully as she walked past her receptionist, still weirded out by her behaviour. 

“Night, Regina.” Zelena grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. Regina stopped, stalking back with her handbag in one hand. 

“What on earth has gotten into you?” Regina demanded, crossing her arms. Zelena swung back and forth in her chair, looking Regina up and down. 

“Who was that on the phone just now?” Zelena smiled, her tongue sticking out from between her teeth. 

“Henry’s vet!” Regina exclaimed, not understanding why Zelena was being so obtuse. 

“Ooh, a vet. How lovely. What’s his name?” Zelena asked. 

“If you must know, it’s Miss Swan. I don’t understand why it’s got you all…” Regina gestured to her sneaky smile. 

“Oh, Miss Swan! Okay, alright…” Zelena grinned.

“Zelena, I’m married and I’m leaving now. I recommend you go take your temperature.” Regina sighed, pulling her sunglasses out of her handbag. 

“I’m just teasing you, Regina. I just haven’t seen you smile like that for a while. It’s nice.” Zelena admitted, resting her chin on the counter at the top of her desk to look at Regina. Regina’s mouth fell open for a beat, watching Zelena’s sincere expression. Was she right? It was too much to think about. 

“Oh. Anyway, I’ll be working from home tomorrow.” Regina said quietly, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes. Zelena nodded, offering her a smile. Regina reciprocated it before heading to the lift down to the car park.

The next day, Henry had fallen badly sick again and she had yelled at Emma Swan. Then, she had been comforted by her and she was far too emotional to be processing anything properly. All she knew was that she was worried about her dog, and worried about the fact that she felt more alive and comforted in Emma’s arms than she had in her husband’s for as long as she could remember. 

The next few days passed by quickly with daily visits to the practice while also working through all the files that her associates had flagged up as potentially dodgy. How Regina had one part of her life going wrong, but then another going so right she had no idea. 

Finally, the day came where she was able to take Henry home. He had been staying in the practice for eleven days and Regina was beyond excited to bring him back to Mifflin Street. She never really considered the bittersweet aspect of it until she stepped quietly into the practice to see Ruby missing from her desk. _Did that girl actually ever work?_ So, she peered into Emma’s consultation room and had her breath stolen from her. 

Emma wasn’t in her usual scrubs, but instead in an incredibly tight pair of jeans and a tank top that showed off the vet’s lean arms. She had placed Henry’s dog carrier on the table and was trying to coax the animal into it. 

“Henry…I will give you a treat if you get in? Please?” Emma sighed, picking up the long-haired retriever and placing him back into the dog carrier. He would just bolt back out, whimpering and leaning into Emma’s torso. Emma laughed, stroking his brown fur. 

“I have an idea.” Emma smiled, more to herself than the puppy. She reached for a small teddy bear that had been in Henry’s bed for the past few weeks. Regina watched as Emma handed it to him and he sniffed at it, biting the ear and sitting down. He tilted his head at Emma,his big brown eyes wide while the teddy bear was still hanging from his mouth. 

“Oh…I’m gonna miss you.” Regina could swear she heard Emma choke up, her own chest aching as she watched the vet wrap her hands around Henry and hold him to her chest. 

“I’ll see you again though! You’ll have to come back and get vaccinations…and check-ups and all that fun stuff. You’ll love it. You’ll be huge by then!” Emma smiled, holding the puppy out in front of her to get a good look at him. Nuzzling his nose, she then pried the teddy from his mouth and placed it inside the carrier. Henry quickly followed, and this time stayed in long enough for Emma to shut the door.

Emma smiled at him through the carrier before picking it up and turning to the reception. Before Emma had seen her, Regina got the chance to properly take in Emma’s appearance. She was beautiful, and once she noticed the brunette and her smile had widened, Regina thought she was heartbreakingly so. Where that had come from, Regina had no idea but she realised she couldn’t move from her spot nor look away from Emma’s biceps flexing under the weight of Henry. 

“Regina.” Emma grinned, standing before her. Emma noticed Regina’s outfit - a royal purple blouse tucked into perfectly tailored slacks and accompanied with a light, crisp blazer. Stylish as usual, but not as dressed up as the days that Emma were quickly recognising as Regina’s meeting days. With a twinge of sadness, she realised that she wouldn’t now be able to see these things. 

“Miss Swan.” Regina replied, a small smile of her own. She was still captivated by Emma’s appearance, unsure why a change of clothes and a fresh face of make up was having such an effect on her. Emma saw something burning in Regina’s eyes - something important, yet something dangerous and devastating. She cleared her throat and looked down to Henry. 

“I’ve filled in Henry’s forms, I just need you to sign a couple things and then we can go enjoy our weekend.” Emma explained, gesturing to the pack of forms under her arm. 

“Oh, of course. Let me take those.” Regina insisted, lightly resting her hand on Emma’s arm while she pulled the pack out. She almost wished for Emma to be wearing sleeves, just so that her hand didn’t feel so completely on fire and numb at the same time where she had touched Emma’s skin. 

Frowning, and in desperate need of space, Regina sat down and opened up the pack. She set about signing the documents where Emma had put small post-its on - of course they had little puppy faces on them, a touch undoubtedly reeking of Mary Margaret - while the other woman placed Henry on the floor and tried to pretend to busy herself. 

“All done.” Regina gave her fake smile, handing the pile back to Emma. Emma looked through them all, her eyebrows knitted together. “…Is there something wrong?”

Emma looked back up, her emerald eyes dimmer than usual. 

“No, not at all. Everything looks in order.” She replied, placing the forms down on the desk. Regina felt her stomach begin to flip and palms sweat, though she had no idea why as the two women looked at each other. 

“Great.” Regina reiterated, folding her arms across herself to try and tame her body’s betrayal. Emma nodded, tearing her eyes away from Regina and crouching down in front of the carrier. 

“See ya, Hen.” She smiled - a smile which widened when a small and pink tongue peeked through the cage trying to reach Emma’s fingers. She sighed, looking up to Regina with those big, sad, green eyes.

“Don’t be a stranger, Regina.” Emma implored, picking up the handle of Henry’s carrier and handing it to Regina. She took it, her fingers lightly brushing Emma’s as she did so. 

“I won’t.” Regina replied, looking up and meeting Emma’s gaze with her own. The corners of her lips turned up as she leaned forward, causing the vet to turn red. “Em-ma.”


End file.
